PPB December 2018

made using voice-search assistants. But don’t fret, because suppliers and distributors still have time to prepare. Here’s how to start prepping your business for voice search. 1. Update your company website. For a voice- search assistant to find your brand, it needs to find your website. By keeping your information up-to-date—including your company’s contact information—and by having a website that is readily accessible, it will be easier for customers to find your business using keywords. (Think SEO). 2. Update your company’s information on business- review sites. When voice-search assistants are collecting information, they also look to review sites like Yelp, Yellowpages or Manta. Be sure to update your company’s information on these sites as well. (And continue to provide top-notch customer service, as consumer feedback is shared here.) 3. Use long-tail keywords. Since voice-search assistants work using voice-recognition software, it may be helpful to use long-tail keywords, rather than seed keywords alone. Long-tail keywords are search phrases designed to target your consumers’ intentions. These phrases, which are specific to your business, have low competition and high conversion. For instance, a consumer who requests, “Pillsbury snowman-shaped sugar cookies” is more likely to get an accurate hit than a consumer who simply requests, “Pillsbury.” One way to include additional long- tail keywords is through an FAQ page, where these keywords can be woven into questions. 4. Use conversational language on your site. Because voice-search technology is all about voice-to-text translation, people are using natural language as opposed to formal. When considering keywords and SEO, think about what your clients might say to conduct the search, and create keywords using this information. Also, when publishing content on your website, be sure to address the who, what, when, where, why and how questions as clearly as possible. BRANDING Planters ToOffer Peanut-Flavored Beer Iconic American snack-food brand goes ‘nuts’ for beer Go nuts—at least that’s what Planters is saying with its new peanut-flavored beer and fitting digital marketing campaign, #BeerGoesNuts. The iconic American snack-food brand recently jumped onboard the craft beer bandwagon, following suit to Dunkin’ Donuts, IHOP and Blockbuster, to offer its silly named, but notable brew, Mr. IPA-Nut. The beer, which was said to have a citrusy aroma with honey-roasted peanut undertones and a touch of salt, sold for a limited time in the Greater Chicago area, where it was brewed, in honor of National American Beer Day (October 27). The market response questioned why Planters—the 112-year-old brand that is immediately recognizable by its mascot, Mr. Peanut and his famous monocle —would be interested in entering the craft beer world. Simply put, Noon Whistle Brewing in Lombard, Illinois, had something Mr. Peanut wanted. Planters, which is owned by Kraft Heinz Company—the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world, and the same manufacturer of Velveeta, Classico, Smart Ones, Kool-Aid, Jell-O, Philadelphia, Maxwell House and Grey Poupon—partnered with the small, three-year-old brewery, which manufactured less than 2,000 barrels of beer in 2017, all of which was sold locally. (To put this into perspective, a microbrewery is considered one that produces less than 15,000 barrels annually.) The beer, which used 800 pounds of whole honey-roasted Planters peanuts and peanut powder, was exclusively available at the brewing company and select stores for $9.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans. But perhaps IPA-Nut is not so unusual, after all, as the product follows suit to other companies’ unexpected decisions to experiment with beer. In October, IHOP collaborated with Droga5, an advertising agency in New York, to launch its IHOPS Pumpkin Pancake Stout—a beer brewed with IHOP’s pancake mix—that was available in the Greater New York City area. Also, in October, Dunkin’ Donuts partnered with Boston, Massachusetts-based Harpoon Brewery to offer coffee beer to consumers in the northeast. On a smaller scale, in September the last operating Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon, partnered with Bend-based 10 Barrel Brewing to create its own craft beer. So far, it’s proven to be a way for these brands to step outside of their traditional mold and experiment with new products and a new consumer pool, while adding a hint of shock factor. | DECEMBER 2018 | 73 THINK