Looking to expand its reach and prompt consumers as they ponder whether or not it’s a KD kinda night, Kraft Canada has brought the iFood Assistant mobile app and mobile site to Canada.
‘It’s the ultimate engagement tool,’ said Edward Kaczmarek, director of innovation, consumer experiences at Kraft Foods. ‘We tried to design something that answers an unmet consumer need but that also enables us to connect with the user closer to the point of purchase.’
Allowing consumers to access recipes, create a shopping list, and read up on food-related content, the new app launched today and is being promoted across Kraft Canada properties, including Kraft.ca, What’s Cooking magazine, and the company’s e-newsletter.
The app, created by New Zealand-based Hyperfactory and NY-based Meredith Integrated Marketing, includes a dynamic ad-serving system that is currently being used to promote Kraft brands, which consumers can drag and drop into their shopping lists. The editorial content also focuses on Kraft brands. And bringing those advertising and content integration opportunities to complementary brands in the future is something Kraft is considering, Kaczmarek said.
Interestingly, he adds, the company has found a much higher percentage of men were engaging with the US version of the app (which has been out for a year) than it had historically noticed with its other CRM initiatives. It has also brought a number of new customers into Kraft’s CRM world.
‘It widens our exposure to different consumers and it really provides them with relevant suggestions on the go, when and where it’s convenient for them,’ he said. ‘They’re using it when they need it; it’s not just a push tool.’
The app is currently available to iPhone and iPod Touch users in its standard format and a ‘Lite’ version is available to Blackberry users. The reason the company released the two versions is because while the Apple App is available for 99 cents, the lowest price for a Blackberry app is $1.99. So the company made a ‘lite’ version to offer for free to Blackberry users. The company also simultaneously launched an iFood Assistant mobile site so that all smartphone users could access the content.
