Creative Problem Solving
Why thinking outsite the box, wins.
The Problem
Heinz ketchup had a problem. Restaurants were purchasing their ketchup bottles and refilling them with non-Heinz ketchup. Not only did it hurt their bottom line, but it also hurt their brand. The product they were refilling them with was subpar- but consumers thought it was Heinz.
What should they do?
a. Litigate. Sue every mom-and-pop restaurant refilling their Heinz bottles is the best idea.
b. Expose the issue. Tell customers they can’t trust Heinz ketchup bottles at restaurants.
c. Get creative. Be smarter and more clever. Give customers information and power.
The right answer? C. And that’s just what they did.
Heinz determined the official Pantone color of its ketchup and then added a red border to its ketchup bottle label to match. This allows customers to know if it’s real Heinz ketchup or not:
How might you apply creative problem-solving to your situation?
More Resources & References:
- https://www.creativemoment.co/heinz-creates-label-with-the-exact-pantone-reference-of-tomato-ketchup-to-fight-ketchup-fraud
- https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=0d8a90fe-ae4c-4315-94f7-d5f228430e3d
- https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/campaign-of-the-week-heinz-cracks-down-on-counterfeiters-with-ketchup-colour-swatch-labels
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/madovermarketing_heinz-is-fighting-ketchup-fraud-with-a-genius-activity-7138520033776889856-sEeq/
Thank you for reading. If you found this insightful, give us a clap or share it with a friend!
