Foodmakers plan big ad campaigns in down economy

While the food companies, like other large advertisers, pulled back on their spending as the economy soured, many big foodmakers plan advertising punches in the coming months. The shift comes as consumers worried about rising costs eat at home more and shop with budgets in mind--a trend that's leading many of them to generics, or private-label brands.

So while automakers may be less apt to advertise right now--SUV, anyone?--food companies say they are jumping back in the game. If they want to keep selling their own brands, they've got to keep them in the minds of shoppers.

From Sara Lee Corp.'s new ad campaign with The Walt Disney Co.'s "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" to Kraft's new pizza commercials preaching "DiGiornonomics," consumers should expect to be blitzed by food advertisements in the next year.

Many major food makers are promising boosts to their advertising in the new fiscal year or reporting their spending is up in the most recent one. Their ads seem to be hitting a variety of outlets, including print, television, in-store promotion and the Internet--which marketers say helps them hone in on consumers and get the most bang for their advertising buck.

Analysts say it makes sense, even as these companies grapple with high prices for oil, corn and grains.

Consumers aren't going to change what they eat as they pull away from restaurants, said Harry Balzer, vice president of consumer research firm the NPD Group, and an expert on American eating patterns. They're just going to look for bargains, and that can mean changing brands.

"It's very hard for us to change our behavior. If we like ice cream, we're going to continue eating ice cream," he said. "Now the question is going to be what brand you're going to buy."

That means more pressure on food companies to keep brand recognition strong at a time when consumers are swallowing price increases and finding some of their favorite products shrunken--a move some companies are making as a way to help absorb the higher input costs.

Sue Mentecki, 51, of Milwaukee, said she's looking at more generics lately as she tries to keep up with rising costs. Her family of four's food budget is now up $30 a week, to between $120 and $150. She goes through two boxes of cereal a week, up from one-and-a-half because the sizes are shrinking, so generics are increasingly attractive, she said.