Sara Lee Deli Launches Social Media Campaign & Video Series

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. — Sara Lee Deli today announced the launch of its “Life’s Not Perfect…But Your Deli Meat Can Be,” social media campaign. The new campaign aims to connect with women by humorously acknowledging life’s less than perfect moments via a new video series, while offering solutions with its pre-sliced and sliced-to-order deli meats through its Facebook community.

“In life, planned perfect moments rarely turn out so perfect,” said Don Baker, director, Sara Lee Deli. “Through this campaign, by capturing some of life’s milestones and moments — like the first day of school — then ending with a humorous twist, we can better connect with our audience. It lets Sara Lee Deli talk about its products, drive consumers to their location in the grocers’ deli and communicate the high quality of our meats.”

The campaign includes a third series of videos created with Second City Communications, the business services arm of the world-famous Second City Theater, which features moments from three busy women’s lives with unexpected outcomes. The videos will be released and promoted over six weeks via Social Theater, a dynamic brand engagement platform within Facebook, as well as featured on the Sara Lee Deli Facebook page at www.facebook.com/saraleedeli. The three Sara Lee Deli “Life’s Not Perfect” videos capture the following:

•“That Little Boy Still Has His Sandwich” – Little boy’s first soccer game of the year can’t compete with the love of his sandwich.
•“Holy Smokes – Watch This Dad Fall” – Well-intentioned parents prepare their daughter for the first day of school, but a missing lunch and misplaced tricycle get in the way.
•“She’s Talking to Cheese and Deli Meat” – A woman’s private conversation with fancy cheeses and deli meat gets unknowingly captured by friends at the grocery store.

Additionally, as part of the “Life’s Not Perfect” campaign, Harris Interactive conducted an online survey among more than 2,000 U.S. adults, half of which were female, on behalf of Sara Lee Deli. The survey aimed to identify how women struggle when it comes to creating perfect meals and sandwiches. Only 55 percent of American women would eat a meal they created for a special occasion if it didn’t come out the way they expected. In response, Sara Lee Deli created sandwich-perfecting tips and recipes with Sara Lee Chef Catherine DeOrio, available on the brand’s Facebook page, to help solve her meal “perfecting” struggles.

Other survey findings include:

•Sixty percent of U.S. women who ever make deli sandwiches at home struggle with some aspect of making the perfect sandwich
•Thirty-five percent of U.S. women who ever make deli sandwiches at home have trouble coming up with more creative deli sandwiches (i.e., instead of just turkey and cheese) when making a sandwich at home
•Ninety-five percent of U.S. women spend at least one hour preparing the perfect meal for their family and friends

The Sara Lee Deli “Life’s Not Perfect” campaign is an extension of the 2009 Mama Saga™ Moments and 2010 Saga Solver™ Experts and Lunchtime Challenge programs, all of which aimed to raise awareness of the brand’s pre-sliced portfolio, offering solutions while building a strong connection with moms via Facebook and other social media vehicles. With more than 85,000 fans, and 4 million views of its previous videos, Sara Lee Deli has grown its presence online by providing expert tips and recipes, creating fun and engaging content and using humor as an entertaining introduction to the brand.

“Life’s Not Perfect” marks the first year the brand will promote both its pre-sliced and sliced-to-order varieties, focusing on its entire portfolio as a premium, go-to solution. The “Life’s Not Perfect” campaign supports the brand’s larger creative campaign initiative, “Meat Brought To Perfection,” which focuses on quality and product location of its meats.

About Sara Lee Sliced-to-Order Deli Meats

Sara Lee sliced-to-order deli meats are available behind the deli counter in 29 varieties of turkey, ham, chicken and beef, including lower sodium options. Minimally processed and containing no fillers, the deli meat is oven-roasted delivering on premium taste and quality. The product is available in retailers across the country with a suggested retail price ranging from $6.49-$8.99 per pound depending on the region.

About Sara Lee Pre-Sliced Deli Meats

Sara Lee pre-sliced deli meats combine deli-quality meats with a fresh approach to packaging without having to wait in line at the deli counter. Made with no fillers and offering the prepackaged convenience consumers are looking for, this deli product delivers premium, pre-sliced meats, as well as the convenience, freshness, and resealability of tub packaging. The meats are available in 18 varieties of turkey, ham, chicken and beef, including lower sodium options, and are found in the deli section where Sara Lee sliced-to-order meats are sold. The suggested retail price ranges from $4.99-$5.99; depending on the region of the country the product is sold.

About Sara Lee Corporation

Each and every day, Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) delights millions of consumers and customers around the world. The company has one of the world’s best-loved and leading portfolios with its innovative and trusted food and beverage brands, including Ball Park, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee and Senseo. Collectively, our brands generate nearly $9 billion in annual net sales from continuing operations. Sara Lee has approximately 20,000 employees in its continuing operations worldwide. In January, 2011, Sara Lee Corp. announced that it will divide the company into two pure play publicly-traded companies. One company will be focused around the current International Coffee and Tea business, while the other company will be focused on the North American Retail Meats and North American Foodservice businesses. For more information on this news, and on Sara Lee's brands, please visit www.saralee.com.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of O’Malley Hansen Communications from August 17-19, 2011 among 2,210 adults ages 18 and older (1,107 women). This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Veronica Marshall.

Source: Sara Lee Corporation