When John Signorino took over as president and CEO of Chicken of the Sea in January 2005, he faced a classic dilemma: How do you move your products away from being a commodity?
Most consumers don’t think much about the brand of canned tuna that they toss into their shopping carts. When product quality and packaging all seem the same, most shoppers base their buying decisions on price.
There was also a lackluster perception of tuna, and recent press coverage alluding to potential mercury contamination of the fish further complicated the matter.
“Consumers didn’t have a strong sense of differentiation among the brands,” says Signorino. “We were losing money, and the market had changed.”
Chicken of the Sea has been around since the early 1920s and the company generates an estimated $400 million in annual revenue and employs 2,500 workers.
As the industry matured and demand for the product leveled off, the company assumed a commodity-driven marketing posture, and the brand was no longer touted through continuous television advertising. Sales were flat, and margins were low.
Signorino was hired to put the company back on a growth track. Here’s how he did it.