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October 7, 2009

Kraft Product Naming Swap: iSnack 2.0 Out, Cheesybite In

It doesn't really surprise me that the iSnack 2.0 product name for the new cheesy Vegemite product was pulled, leading some pundits to say that even if the (admittedly terrible) iSnack 2.0 name was a marketing gimmick, it might have done harm to the brand.

Kraft, the makers of Vegemite, has had plenty of media attention over the last couple of weeks, but unfortunately, most of it has been negative. Lots of bloggers are even getting sick of the iSnack naming hoopla.

Amazingly, Kraft went back to consumers and held another online competition and this time around "Cheesybite" was the name that came out on top, which is a big improvement.

However, during this second attempt, consumers where not given a chance to submit a name for the new product. Instead, 50,000 online participants were given seven naming options:
cheesybite-vegemite.gif

  • Cheesybite

  • Creamymate

  • Smooth

  • Snackmate

  • Vegemate

  • Vegemild

  • None of these
Vegemite Smooth was a close second, while Vegemite Creamymate was the least popular choice.

In addition, "Cheesymite, one of the most popular suggestions from the original 48,000 entries, couldn't be trademarked" because it was already in use.

Through all this, Kraft still maintains that the iSnack debacle was not a gimmick, with one executive saying "Hand on my heart, the Kraft board would not engage in anything as unethical as that."

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Posted by William Lozito at October 7, 2009 8:04 AM
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