Kraft, HSN Launch Wide-ranging Partnership

Kraft Foods and interactive multichannel retailer HSN (Home Shopping Network) have forged a multiyear partnership that will enable consumers to buy HSN cooking products onKraftfoods.com’s recipe pages while allowing them access Kraft content on HSN.com and other HSN distribution channels. This inaugural collaboration between HSN and a consumer packaged goods manufacturer will offer people meal ideas and cookware products for an enhanced kitchen experience.

Both companies were enthusiastic about the innovative initiative. “This partnership is truly unique as it led us to the development of a groundbreaking business model, marrying highly relevant content with interactive shopping and creating multimedia platforms for new product launches,” noted Julie Fleischer, director, consumer relationship marketing content strategy and integration at Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft. “It will enable us to expand and deepen our consumer engagement with exclusive recipes and brand programs.”

According to Bill Brand, EVP of marketing, programming and business development for St. Petersburg, Fla.-based HSN, “This partnership further deepens the relationship with our customers by providing them more of what they love about HSN -- great experiences and great brands.” He added that the venture would “introduce new customers to HSN … while reinforcing our leadership position in the kitchen category.”

Kraft and HSN plan to leverage all of their distribution channels to appeal to their significant combined consumer bases. Kraftfoods.com is one of the top 20 CPG company food and cooking sites, while HSN is available in about 96 million U.S. homes in the U.S., with a Web destination that’s a top-10 trafficked e-commerce site receiving a quarter of a million unique users daily. Both companies additionally have strong mobile and social platforms.

As of March 15, the Kraft Store on kraftfoods.com will be “powered by HSN” and display HSN cooking-related products from such culinary celebs as Todd English, Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse. HSN.com will shortly begin to add Kraft recipes on product pages in the kitchen category. Further plans include highlighting Kraft products in HSN programming; producing cooking videos that link Kraft recipe content with key HSN kitchen products and airing the video content across multiple platforms.

The partnership is also employing the capacious Kraft brand portfolio through a number of multifaceted marketing programs with HSN, among them the following:

• On March 12, new product Philadelphia Cooking Crème will join forces with Todd English and HSN for what the companies call “a unique multichannel social experience.” English will appear live on HSN promoting his GreenPan cookware while preparing recipes containing Philadelphia Cooking Crème. On the same day, more than 10,000 homes across the country -- a record number for an event overseen by the event-planning company House Party – will throw a "Philly Dinnertime Dilemma House Party." Additionally, for the first time ever in House Party's history, the two experiences will converge when English chats live with home cooks on SKYPE.
• Maxwell House International and HSN have struck a yearlong partnership integrating the venerable coffee brand into HSN programming, HSN.com and multichannel interactive games. During the month of March -- aka International Women's Month -- Maxwell House is sponsoring an interactive game on HSN.com that offers visitors the chance to win HSN and Maxwell House coupons and prizes.