Closer inspection will show the people engaged in wacky doings--a man eating fire in the shadow of the giant pepper, a fellow fleeing a swarm of giant bees on the label for honey mustard pretzels. "Flavorium tomatocus giganticus" says the label on the heirloom pasta sauce, and also: "This stuff is a production nightmare and a pain in the @#$%!! to create. So, if you think that you can make an organic spaghetti sauce for less, go ahead and try. Oh--did I mention that these tomatoes only grow six weeks out of the year? Yeah, so good luck." Neary points to marketing opportunities aligning Dave's "big, giant flavor" with appearances at and sponsorship of biggest pumpkin and champion tomato contests.
This "white label" concept, Dave soon learns, is Deskey's recommendation--a way to both bridge his demographically divided consumer base and stake a bold claim in a perceived white space in the burgeoning but fuzzy domain of gourmet by owning intense flavor.
Dave leans forward in his seat, his hand on his chin, as creative director Doug Sovonick adds his voice to the chorus of persuasion for the white label concept:
"Your core value is insatiable curiosity. It's got that about it. Once I pick it up and I notice there's little people on there and I start to read the copy, it gives me a really big payoff. It's got some delight and some nice surprises. If I try it and like the product, I'm going to look for other ones, and pick up the package and read it, because it's so clever, and it really does a good job, I think, of bringing together the gourmet with the kind of fun attitude. And it's got a really great metaphor for how big the flavor is that's inside there. Giant flavor."
Finally Dave responds. "I'm definitely a processor. I have to process things." He's silent for a moment. "It's hard. We have 12 label looks right now and your recommendation is to go to a single one, so I'm mentally mapping, how do you get from here to there? The question is, does that label connect with an Insanity buyer? The Insanity look has a ton of equity. It's a risk. Not that I'm so risk averse, but if it's a miscalculation, you lose a ton of equity."
Naughton writes in his notes: "Dave's nervous."
Dave stares closely at the concept boards for the white label. He says, as if to himself, "It's interesting because the visuals are more straight gourmet. The copy is where all the fun is."
Then he's full of questions:
"Does big flavor mean strong flavor?"
"So, an Asian sauce, how would it play in this brand?"
"What do you think? Are Insanity buyers going to transfer? Are they going to feel sold out?"
"Would you not, then, launch a Lucky Nut type item?"
"I think," replies Reilly-Howe to the last question, "that if you want to be a big company, a $10 million, $20 million company, it's not going to happen with Lucky Nuts. If you want to do it, do it now, while you've got equity in Insanity, but I don't think it's a growth platform."
"But it's like getting paid to place an ad," says Dave, explaining that the adjustable hot sauce bottle got him plenty of free media exposure, including Good Morning America, Time, and the BBC.
Dave asks what others think--those who haven't spoken up.
"We won't let them talk," jokes Matusak.
Senior designer Vernon Turner, the chief architect of the King Dave concept, plays good cop: "I was thinking you have a lot of information right now. It's a big deal, I hear you. "
Dave reminds the Deskey people that, in their own words, he's "hit a nerve" with his Insanity brand. To part with that equity seems potentially foolish.
"But do you really believe that the nerve is in the packaging and not the product?" asks Reilly-Howe. "I think the packaging is incidental. I think you do need to handhold people, helping them with some transitional label, but I don't think they're buying it for the graphic."
There's talk of Dave surveying his substantial e-mail list of customers to learn just how important the current packaging is to them and how the new look would play. A conference call is scheduled for two days later, giving Dave more time to digest today's presentations. Dave thanks everyone and heads off to catch the next plane home.
After Dave departs, Neary says to Reilly-Howe: "I knew this was coming. He could do it for everything but the hot sauce. It's a big risk to take--but so is continuing to introduce wacky stuff and launching products that fail because there's no strategy behind them.
"Yes, the packaging for Insanity is a recognizable beacon. But come on, if you're selling one bottle to your customers every couple of years, you can make the change--you can do what you need to make it work, and it will take more effort than just a packaging change. He's got to get out there and let the trade know and his customers know that the guy who brought you the hottest sauce in the universe now brings you the most intense, most unique flavor. Not just: I'm wacky Dave. He can't keep doing that."
But there's no time now for more post-presentation analysis. Neary heads to his upstairs office and forces himself to forget all about Dave for the time being. Staring at his computer screen, he starts to make the mental shift to another package design, becoming "Diaper Man."
IV. Dave's Decision: A Branded House and a Guesthouse?
The July 30 conference call lasts 50 minutes. It finds Dave still hesitant--certainly in the absence of consumer survey data bolstering Deskey's claim that the cult following for Insanity Sauce has little to do with its label and everything to do with what's inside the bottle.
