Contemporary Marketing 16th Edition by Louis Boone,David Kurtz

Exercise 23

Pushing Content into New Channels
"We're a content-first company," notes Sergei Kuharsky, senior vice president and general manager of licensing and merchandising for Scripps Networks Interactive. How do you build a distribution (or marketing) channel system for content featuring a product that customers can't actually see, smell, hear, touch, or taste? Food Network, one of the branded networks owned by Scripps Networks Interactive, creates and produces the content (concept, script, and other programming details) for an array of television shows focused on food and cooking. Television is the first distribution channel that comes to mind-but the company's website and magazine are also two important channels for getting the content out to consumers. Then there are all the social and digital options: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and more. Finally, there is the retailer who agrees to stock its shelves with Food Network's branded kitchen supplies.
Scripps and Food Network marketers partner to handle the logistics of delivering Food Network's products-ranging from programming to frying pans. By coordinating the flow of marketing information, goods, programming content, and services to members of the overall marketing channel, marketers extend Food Network's reach. Food Network's huge cache of original recipes is a good example. Viewers love to try recipes they see on Food Network's various cooking shows, whether it's Bobby Flay's Barbecue Addiction or Melissa D'Arabian's Ten Dollar Dinners. Marketers had to determine the best way to get those recipes into the kitchens of viewers by facilitating searches. So they posted the recipes on the Food Network website, making it easy for consumers to locate and use. Then they pushed the recipes out farther by creating digital and print cookbooks (often in partnership with Food Network stars such as Rachael Ray or Giada De Laurentiis). The cookbooks have been extremely popular; during one recent year, ten Food Network cookbooks hit the New York Times best seller list.
When Food Network decided to create a line of kitchen and cooking supplies-cookware, dinnerware, table linens, and more-marketers considered the options and settled on an exclusive distribution partnership with Kohl's. Kuharsky notes that while being everywhere can be a very good thing because it eliminates barriers to consumers, it also poses challenges. "With it, you lose control, and then you risk quality," he explains. So Food Network remains selective in its choice of distribution channels. Today, Kohl's sells more than 1,100 Food Network items at its retail stores and online. And since food is, after all, about the senses, Food Network has partnered with about 2,200 sports arenas across the country to offer everything from sizzling burgers to crispy fries at exclusive concessions. Sports fans can belly up to the Food Network stand and enjoy their favorite arena snacks while cheering their teams. Kuharsky summarizes the company's overall distribution strategy this way: "You look at all the different consumer touch points and what the challenges are. You want the ones that give you the best opportunity to present the brand and deepen your relationship."
Managing all of the interactive digital channels for delivering content as well as marketing messages is a vital job for Scripps and Food Network marketers. "I think our strongest channel right now is probably the Food Network website, for its reach," observes Tanya Edwards, digital programming director. One reason for this is that people engage online while they are watching the television shows, giving Food Network a prime opportunity to hold onto viewers' attention after a show is over. For example, at the end of Restaurant: Impossible, viewers see a prompt to the Food Network website, where they learn more about the featured restaurant. They might catch an interview with the owners or updates on the restaurant's success.
Edwards notes that Food Network has enjoyed great success with its apps, especially those that focus on recipes and cooking tips, such as "In the Kitchen." The app delivers content right to consumers wherever they are, whether it's the grocery store, farmers' market, or kitchen. This also helps build brand loyalty. "People trust our brand as someone who will help them get dinner, create a great dessert, or bake cupcakes to take to a party," Edwards says.
Because social media is by definition interactive, it creates some unique challenges as part of the overall marketing channel system. For example, it's unclear how to monetize a social media presence. But social media is still one of the best ways to capture valuable data as people talk about the brand. In the end, says Kuharsky, it's all about "looking for all those fun touch points that food goes where we go, and trying to be people's best friend in food."
Questions for Critical Thinking
1. Food Network adopts a dual distribution strategy. In your opinion, what are the benefits of this?
2. Scripps and Food Network appear to have achieved channel cooperation. However, describe a scenario in which channel conflict might arise.
3. How does social media marketing support Food Network's distribution strategy?
4. Do you think Kohl's is the best choice of retail outlet for Food Network's products? Why or why not?