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July 2008 - Strategy Magazine
Who

The SunChip also rises

by Annette Bourdeau
page 17

It's not every day a snack food brand signs on to help rebuild a city. But SunChips isn't your average snack food. Nor is it being led by your average marketer.

Since moving stateside in 2005, Gannon Jones, VP marketing for Dallas-based Frito-Lay North America, has made a significant impact at the company, particularly with its sustainability efforts. The Canadian expat joined the company as VP, health and wellness. In his latest role, he oversees SunChips, Lays, multi-packs and new brands like Flat Earth.

Jones's most recent headline-grabbing initiative is SunChips's involvement in the rebuilding of Greensburg, Kan., as a sustainable community. (The town was devastated by a tornado just over a year ago.) When his media company approached him with the opportunity to get involved, Jones knew it was the right thing to do.

"Strategically, there's a tremendous intersection [since it's a green rebuild], but also from a human interest standpoint it's something that's made us very proud," he says.

This past May, Jones went to Greensburg and presented a cheque to finance the SunChips Business Incubator, a complex that will house 15 businesses. "It will basically be their Main Street," says Jones. The rebuilding efforts are being filmed by the Discovery Channel, and airing as a miniseries throughout the summer. Some of the SunChips sales force will be deployed there at the end of August to pitch in, too. "It's a team-building exercise on many levels," says Jones.

Greensburg isn't the only thing Frito-Lay employees have to be proud of these days. Last fall, the company unveiled a solar-powered plant in Modesto, Calif., with none other than the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The opening scored significant coverage from mainstream news outlets, including The New York Times. "It's hard to take something so operational and make it consumer-centric," says Jill Nykoliation, president of Jones's agency, Toronto-based Juniper Park.

Jones, along with his team of brand managers and Juniper Park, spread the word that SunChips are made with a little help from the sun with a cheeky campaign. One "solar-powered" OOH execution in Oakland placed a stencil of the SunChips logo atop a billboard to create a large SunChips shadow. Another newspaper ad was only visible when held up to a light source. Both "statement" pieces attracted significant free press for the brand. "Everything with Modesto has been hugely successful," says Jones. "We're having record week after record week. We're essentially butting up against our capacity."

Dramatic results are exactly what Jones was after. "He's not an incremental marketer, he likes to push things forward," says Nykoliation. Boss Jaya Kumar, CMO at Frito-Lay North America, agrees. "Gannon is accountable for over four billion dollars in revenue across a strategic combination of brands - Lays, SunChips and a host of new products," he says. "He has delivered outstanding growth in all of his businesses that is significantly higher than the three-year compound annual growth rate, which is a very noteworthy accomplishment."

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