Social Media 31 | SunMatrix Ramble

Kraft Mac & Cheese: Dinner, Not Art iPad App

Kids the world over use Kraft’s macaroni noodles to create macaroni art. To stop wastage of its noodles, Kraft along with ad agency CP+B came up with an iPad app that allowed kids to create digital macaroni art.

The special ‘Dinner, Not Art’ app also donated 10 noodles to ‘Feeding America’ for every noodle used in the kids digital art, capped at 110 million noodles. The donation program is said to run till 31.12.2012. So if you would like to participate then head over to www.DinnerNotArt.com.

When “waste” becomes a UI problem

The cultural truth is simple. Kids love gluing macaroni to paper, and the brand ends up underwriting a craft habit that has nothing to do with dinner. Dinner, Not Art flips that behavior into a digital substitute, while keeping the kid-driven creativity intact.

The mechanics behind Dinner, Not Art

The app recreates macaroni art as a touch-first canvas. Kids place noodles, shape the picture, and finish a piece without using a single real noodle.

That substitution works because it preserves the same make-and-place ritual for the child while removing the product waste that makes the original behavior frustrating for parents.

The participation loop is quantified. Each digital noodle used is described as triggering a real-noodle donation to Feeding America, with a stated cap of 110 million noodles, and a program end date described as 31.12.2012.

In global FMCG organizations, utility-style brand apps work best when the interaction directly expresses the brand’s point of view, and produces a measurable counter in the real world.

Why this lands with parents and kids

The line “Dinner, Not Art” works because it is a gentle reprimand wrapped in play. Kids still get to make something. Parents get a reason to say “yes” without the cleanup and the waste, and the brand gets to reframe its product as food, not craft material.

Extractable takeaway: If you are trying to stop a behavior, do not only scold it. Offer a substitute that preserves the fun, then attach a visible benefit to every use.

What Kraft is really buying with this

The real question is whether a food brand can redirect a familiar household behavior without stripping out the fun that made it popular in the first place.

This is brand positioning with a conversion path. It reinforces that the product belongs on the table, creates positive family-time association, and uses the donation mechanic to make engagement feel purposeful rather than promotional.

What brand teams can borrow from Dinner, Not Art

Replace the waste, not the impulse. Keep the same creative behavior, move it to a medium that does not consume product.
Make the counter tangible. Tie each action to a simple unit that people instantly understand, like noodles donated per noodle used.
Cap with intention. A cap can protect budgets while still sounding meaningful, as long as the unit story stays clear.
Use a line that can parent-proof the idea. If the tagline helps a parent justify participation, adoption gets easier.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the Dinner, Not Art app?

It is an iPad app from Kraft and CP+B that lets kids create digital macaroni art, positioned as a way to avoid wasting real macaroni noodles on crafts.

How does the donation mechanic work?

The campaign is described as donating 10 real noodles to Feeding America for every digital noodle used in a child’s artwork, with a stated cap of 110 million noodles.

Why does this tactic fit the Kraft Mac & Cheese category?

Because it tackles a real behavior linked to the product, while reinforcing the intended usage. The experience says “this belongs at dinner,” without killing the creativity kids want.

What makes this more than a donation promotion?

It changes a product-adjacent behavior, makes the benefit visible per action, and ties the brand message to how the experience actually works.

What should other brands copy from this pattern?

Pick one wasteful or off-brand usage behavior, create a satisfying digital substitute, and connect every interaction to a simple, counted real-world outcome.

Bing: Decode JAY-Z

In a market dominated by Google, Bing wants to feel like a modern choice, and a younger audience is the fastest route to relevance. So it partners with JAY-Z for the launch of his book Decoded.

A book launch that shows up in the real world first

Instead of revealing the book in one place, pages are unveiled in locations referenced on those pages: a Gucci jacket, a restaurant, a hotel pool, a pool table, a car, a bus stop, and a subway. The stunt turns reading into a hunt, and turns “promotion” into something you can physically stumble into.

How the decode game works

Bing ties the physical reveals to an integrated game where fans assemble the book digitally using Bing Search and Bing Maps. Clues to page locations are released daily across Facebook, Twitter, and radio, pushing fans back into search behavior and map-based navigation as part of the entertainment.

In consumer search platforms, discovery mechanics that bridge real-world locations and digital navigation can turn a launch into participation.

Why it lands with a younger audience

The mechanics reward curiosity, speed, collaboration, and social proof. Finding a page is a story you can post. Decoding a clue is a micro-win. Watching the book come together feels like progress you helped create, not content that was simply handed to you. That works because each clue forces a Search and Maps action, so the product becomes the route to the reward.

Extractable takeaway: If you want a younger audience to adopt a utility product, tie progress to repeatable micro-wins that are easy to share.

The business intent hiding in plain sight

For Bing, the goal is not only buzz around Decoded. It is repeated usage of Search and Maps in a context where using the tools feels like play, not a utility task. The partnership borrows cultural gravity from JAY-Z, then converts it into product interaction.

The real question is whether your launch can force repeat product actions, not just cultural attention.

This is stronger than a celebrity endorsement, because it makes Search and Maps the game board instead of the backdrop.

Steal the decode launch mechanics

Make the “content” unlockable. People value what they have to discover, not what they are merely shown.
Anchor digital behavior to a physical trigger. Real locations make clues feel concrete and worth chasing.
Ship a daily cadence. Drip-fed clues keep attention warm without demanding long sessions.
Design for sharing as proof-of-work. Proof-of-work here means a visible signal that you did the effort, not just consumed the content.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “Decode JAY-Z” in one line?

A scavenger-hunt book launch where pages appear in real places, and fans use Bing Search and Bing Maps to find and assemble the book digitally.

What are the key mechanics?

Location-based page reveals, daily clues distributed through social and radio, and a digital assembly experience built around search and maps.

Why does this work better than a standard launch?

It converts passive awareness into repeat actions, and each action produces a shareable win that keeps the loop going.

What is the transferable takeaway for product marketing?

If your product is a tool (search, maps, utility apps), embed it inside a game where using the tool is the fun, not the homework.

What should you measure to know it worked?

Track repeat usage of the specific features you embedded in the game (search queries, map actions, and return visits), not only reach or mentions.

Meat Pack: Hijack

You walk into a competitor’s store to browse shoes. Your phone buzzes. Meat Pack offers you a discount that starts at 99%, then drops by 1% every second. If you want the deal, you have to move.

For a new discount promotion, Meat Pack, a shoe store in Guatemala known for an edgy, irreverent style, created Hijack, described as a GPS-based enhancement to their official smartphone app. Each time a customer entered the official store of one of the brands sold at Meat Pack, the app triggered a promotional message with a countdown offer. The discount started high and decreased every second, then the countdown stopped when the customer reached Meat Pack’s store.

Definition tightening: This is geofencing. A mobile app uses location signals to detect when you enter a defined physical area, then triggers a message based on that location event.

Turning a discount into a race

The mechanism is deliberately ruthless. The offer is so large it interrupts whatever you were doing, and the time pressure converts curiosity into action. The “best possible price” is available only at the exact moment your intent is hottest, while you are literally standing inside a competitor’s store.

In dense urban retail environments where shoppers compare options across nearby stores, location-triggered pricing can create an immediate switching incentive precisely at the point of decision.

Why it lands

It lands because it is a clean behavioural hack. The discount is not just a number. It is a ticking loss. Every second you hesitate, you feel the deal slipping away, which makes running across the street feel rational. The campaign also bakes in bragging rights by reportedly posting successful redemptions to Facebook, turning individual wins into social proof.

Extractable takeaway: If you want people to switch behaviours fast, combine a dramatic incentive with a visible countdown that makes hesitation feel expensive, then make the “next step” unmissable and immediate.

The business intent behind the provocation

This is conquesting with teeth. It aims to convert high-intent foot traffic that is already shopping the category, and to do it at the moment a competitor is paying the cost of acquisition. Reported results from the period describe hundreds of customers being “hijacked” and discounted inventory selling through quickly.

This is smart conquesting, but it only works when the store is close enough for the sprint to feel real. The real question is whether the route from trigger to redemption is short enough to make switching feel instant.

What this retail ambush gets right

Trigger at the true decision point. Not at home. Not later. At the shelf moment.
Make the offer legible in one second. “99% now, dropping” beats a paragraph of terms.
Use urgency with a real rule. A countdown works when it actually changes the outcome.
Design the route. If people cannot act quickly in real geography, the mechanic collapses.
Handle social sharing carefully. If you auto-post, consent and control decide whether it feels fun or creepy.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Meat Pack “Hijack”?

A location-triggered promotion inside Meat Pack’s app that detects when customers enter competitor brand stores, then offers a discount that decreases by 1% every second until the customer reaches Meat Pack.

What is the core mechanism?

Geofencing triggers an offer at the competitor location. A countdown reduces the discount each second. The timer stops when the shopper reaches Meat Pack, turning the offer into a physical sprint.

Why is the countdown so important?

It converts interest into movement. The value loss is visible and immediate, so delaying feels like paying extra.

What are the biggest risks in copying this?

Customer trust and permission. Location tracking and social posting require clear opt-in. Poor transparency turns a clever mechanic into backlash.

What kind of business does this fit best?

Retailers with nearby competitors, fast redemption, and inventory they can afford to discount aggressively for short bursts.