insights, ironies and idiosyncrasies in communication and design

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Friday 20 February 2009

Krafty buggers.



As our good friend and punk planner Charles Frith has pointed out, these are indeed profound times. As even ATL blog god Scamp has noted, the future is elsewhere. And as many advertisers continue to churn out disruptive, hard sell dirge – with increasingly mad abandon as the fiscal year-end approaches – we must tip our hat to Kraft for offering a digital experience that has real value through pure and canny utility.

In the shape of the iFood Assistant iPhone application, Kraft have made a wily move directly related to audience insight. The iFood Assistant application offers recipes, shopping lists, cooking lesson video clips and even a store locator to help you find all you need for your next meal.

So useful is the app, Kraft have even actually got away with charging for it – a lifetime fee of 99 cents. Though revenue's just the beginning of the benefits for the food giant. iFood Assistant not only acts as a platform for a stream of brand communications, directing a willing consumer base to buy Kraft everything but the software also functions as an open channel for other branded content.