Arsenal Holdings PLC: Scoring Goals in Business and Football

When the Blog Post 6 rolled around, I was presented with a dilemma. Since Jelly Belly Candy Company is privately held and doesn't interact publicly with investors, I could either post my shortest blog assignment yet or find another company that would allow me to answer the prompts more fully.

Needless to say, I chose option #2.

For this assignment, I'm looking at Arsenal Holdings plc, the parent company of London's Arsenal Football Club, a professional team in England's Barclays Premier League. Arsenal Holdings plc ("plc" stands for "public limited company") isn't a publicly traded company, either, but it has issued more than 60,000 shares. These shares are not traded on the London or New York stock exchanges but on specialty exchanges and the majority (66.7 percent) shareholder is American Stan Kroenke, better known for owning the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League and the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association.

In providing updates on the activities of its 12 subsidiary companies, which include the team itself and companies that manage the team's stadium property and operate the venue itself (known as Emirate Stadium), Arsenal Holdings plc does an excellent job in keeping all its stakeholders, including investors, fans and followers, current using traditional financial reports and its annual general shareholders meeting, which was held this year on Oct. 27. In the fiscal year ending May 31, 2011, the football (soccer) team posted a profit of £45.8 million ($71.8 million) and the other subsidiaries were profitable as well. In 2009, Forbes ranked Arsenal as the third most successful football franchise on the planet, behind only England's Manchester United and Spain's Real Madrid.   

A quick Google search for "Arsenal Holdings plc" brings up its latest financial year-end report as the first result. This report, available in downloadable PDF format, includes detailed financial results for all subsidiary companies as well as reports from the chairman, chief executive and directors.

The "Community" section of its annual report details the many initiatives Arsenal Holdings plc has undertaken to help local government in improving the North London area. One of the company properties, Elthorne Park, was recognized in March with the Mayor of London's Safer Parks Gold Award for efforts to fight anti-social behavior and create safer community environments for children. And, despite its primary focus on football, Arsenal has introduced a host of sports, including field hockey, as part of its community outreach and one participant, Darren Cheesman, will represent Great Britain during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Arsenal's charitable campaign, "Be a Gooner (a play on the team's nickname "The Gunners"), Be a Giver," raised more than £600,000, some of which was used for efforts to aid homeless youth through education and employment training.  

While Arsenal's reputation in Europe and worldwide is well-known, it is still a work in progress here in the United States, and I feel that Arsenal has an opportunity to accomplish more through its commercial partnership with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.

This alliance, which dates to 2007, focuses mainly on developing players but could be expanded to integrate some of Arsenal's London-based charitable and community outreach efforts into neighborhoods in Colorado where some of the same services could be utilized. Such an expansion would be especially helpful because the percentage of Colorado children living in poverty grew from 11.3 percent in 2000 to 15 percent in 2008, according to U.S. census data.  

Sports franchises don't often experience crises like chemical or oil spills or massive financial mismanagement, and Arsenal Holdings plc would be well advised to stay its course should the company undergo any business disaster in the future. There is excellent communications with all stakeholders, particularly its investors and its Arsenal Footbal Club fans, and a deep conviction to and proven track record of corporate social responsibility.

Many viewed the start of the team's 2011/2012 season as a crisis, as it included losses to league rivals Liverpool and Manchester United, but top management was unshaken. During the annual general meeting in October, the normally media-shy majority owner Stan Kroenke told shareholder that "Arsenal has all the elements that you need to have success in this kind of business," a statement that sent all the right signals.

In English football, head coaches (known as "managers") normally get quite nervous when the results don't go their way and worry about getting fired (or "sacked" in British slang), but Kroenke's timely remark helped sooth manager Arsene Wenger's nerves and the team has since posted five wins, two draws and one loss, a record that included beating crosstown rivals Chelsea F.C. 5-3 October 29.

Ronald Reagan, Jack Donaghy and Jelly Belly

U.S. presidents don't endorse products while still in office, but Ronald Reagan came as close to a celebrity spokesman for Jelly Belly as anyone else in the company's history. Jelly Belly even offered a special deal "fit for a commander-in-chief" to commemorate Reagan's 100th birthday in February. Even more recently the game show "Jeopardy" featured a question about Jelly Belly jelly beans (3.5 tons worth) being served at Reagan's 1981 inaugural festivities, 30 years after the event.

In a related move, Jelly Belly also served as the sponsor for the Ronald
Reagan Centennial float at this year's 122nd Annual Rose Parade, issuing
press release to announce the deal.

As mentioned in a previous post, singer Kina Graniss is Jelly Belly's most visible celebrity spokesman, and her video for "In Your Arms," made with 288,000 Jelly Belly jelly beans, is featured prominently on Jelly Belly's Facebook fan page. Not surprisingly, Jelly Belly products were included at the launch party for the single and photos were posted on the Facebook wall.

"In Your Arms" video director Greg Jardin (with tie)

and the video's designers and production team.

One strategy that Jelly Belly seems to rely on more than celebrity endorsement is product placement, both direct and indirect. Whether its a deal on "Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans" linked to the DVD release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" or luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman's window display made entirely of jelly beans on NYC's Fifth Avenue, Jelly Belly's integration and visibility would make even GE Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming Jack Donaghy proud.

While not an official celebrity endorser, comedian/musician "Weird Al" Yankovic appears in the recently released documentary, "Candyman: The David Klein Story," which chronicles "the epic rise and fall of Mr. Jelly Belly." In one scene, Yankovic is seen tasting a Jelly Belly flavor with Klein, an action that can only be interpreted as an endorsement. Celebrities are too protective of their own brands and images to get involved with products they don't use or enjoy.  

Despite a strong social media presence for Jelly Belly, it's harder to find in the blogosphere. Several bloggers write regularly about the company and its products, including CandyBlog, which recently discussed the new Jelly Belly Mint Jelly Bean Chocolate Dips (the blogger was not a fan), but Jelly Belly Cycling seemed to be the only steady presence, particularly with its informative and regularly updated Twitter page. My guess is that, as Bhargava discusses, "blogging is not right for every business" and Jelly Belly feels it has gained enough ground in other social media and doesn't need to blog.

Jelly Belly does a great job of leveraging social media to promote and market its products and its brand identity is the envy of many, but I think Jelly Belly would benefit from a corporate blog aimed at retaining existing employees and attracting new talent. There's all kinds of information about the company, its history, products and interactive offerings like plant tours, but the "Careers" section of their Web site is the exact opposite of Jelly Belly itself - colorless and bland.

Prospective employees would like to know if working at Jelly Belly is as exciting and different an experience as its 50 gourmet jelly bean flavors. Though the Web site says Jelly Belly "thrive(s) on the company's rich diversity of personalities and ethnic and cultural backgrounds and seek special individuals who demonstrate potential," without examples that's just corporate-speak.

Surely Jelly Belly could follow Bhargava's advice to "think outside the CEO and senior members" and find some employees who'd be willing to share their personalities, as well as their experiences as Jelly Belly employees, with outside stakeholders. If they did, I'm sure they'd solidify their customer loyalty as well as attract new talent to their workforce.

What's the Scoop on Jelly Belly Media Relations?

As a former journalist, my first thought when examining Jelly Belly's media relations was to examine how easy the company made it for a reporter to find contact information on its Web site. Despite my diligence, I had a lot of trouble locating the person I'd need to reach if I wanted to do a print/broadcast/Web story about Jelly Belly. 

In its "Contact Us" section, there is a mailing address for company's Fairfield, Calif., headquarters and the its Pleasant Prairie, Wisc. distribution center, but today's journalists are inclined to use snail mail as they would be to take notes with a quill pen and inkwell.

The email function is a generic form with a pull-down menu that includes nearly everything but how to find a media/corporate communications contact. The "FAQ" is no better and clearly targeted to consumers. Searches for "media" and "corporate communications" were fruitless, but I did learn the Fairfield, Calif., factory offers RV parking.

There is also an "800" number, but my instincts tell me that when the outgoing voice is Mr. Jelly Belly, most information will center on selling candy. After listening to all telephone options, I sadly learned my instincts were correct. There's no specific option for journalists to use to contact someone at the company.

Despite the lack of contact information or a media kit on its Web site, Jelly Belly doesn't suffer from media underexposure. A Google News search reveals a variety of coverage, much of it on Kina Graniss, including an interesting Associated Press feature story on Jelly Belly creator David Klein's latest attempt to create the next big thing in candy (Klein and a partner sold their company interest in 1980 for $4.8 million, then Klein disappeared from the candy scene) and a Web posting on how her video (made with 288,000 Jelly Belly beans) has gone viral. The AP story was picked up by numerous outlets, including The Huffington Post's "David Klein, Former Mr. Jelly Belly, Looks For A Comeback," so whatever media relations strategy Jelly Belly uses seems to work pretty well.

David Klein (AP/Jae C. Hong)

But I couldn't believe that brand with so much media exposure would have such a hide-and-seek media relations mentality, so I kept searching. Finally, in frustration, I did what most people would do - a Google search for "Jelly Belly" AND "media contact," which immediately turned up a seemingly separate Web site, www.jellybellypress.com," which had all the information I'd been laboring to find all along.

The "Contact Us" section has a generic email address publicrelations@jellybelly.com, but there's a local California phone number for the director of communications along and a serious disclaimer that "Only calls/emails from media outlets will be returned."

The "Press Kit" section claims to "include every resource you will need about Jelly Belly Candy Company," but the link on the words "Press Kit" doesn't seem to lead anywhere and the rest of the page contains a yawning gap where one would guess additional information would reside.

However, the section includes the latest press releases, many of which are recipe-focused, such as the latest, Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes. These releases, which fail to meet the standard of "Template for a Press Release," contain tagged keywords like "baking," "cupcakes" and "decorating," which lead to related items/entries across the JellyBelly.com.  There are more traditional press releases such as "Jelly Belly Intros New Beanaturals® Superfruit Flavours," but I'm stumped as to why an all-American company like Jelly Belly would spell "flavor" with a "u" in its press release. Maybe Madonna wrote that one.  

Finally, there's a link allowing users to subscribe to a feed, with the ability to select terms from "baking" to "uncategorized." This is a useful tactic to regular connect consumers, journalists and others with the latest company news and information.

Overall, I found that Jelly Belly's media relations strategy mirrored its corporate strategy by positioning its product as "the world's #1 gourmet jelly bean" and focusing on the qualities that differentiate it from other brands. My only complaint was that the "Pressroom" site, though full of great information, wasn't just difficult to locate on the company's main corporate site, it was impossible.

Jelly Belly + New Media = A Recipe for Success

For a company that dates back to the 19th century, Jelly Belly mixes with today's new media as easily as Sunkist®  Lemon and coconut (Two gourmet flavors which combine to make "lemon meringue pie." For the curious, more Jelly Belly recipes can be found here).

Without annoying pop-ups or other irritants, Jelly Belly has succeeded in making social media nearly unavoidable for Web page visitors. Click on the company's home page and a toolbar appears at the bottom displaying the various options, including "Shop JellyBelly.com," "Click here to see our latest Facebook updates," "(Facebook) Like," "Click here to watch videos from our YouTube channel," "Click here to share this page" and (while not exactly a "new media" function) a cool "Translate" button aimed at Jelly Belly's worldwide customer base. With one click, this can transform the page into Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Russian.

While not yet reaching Kutcheresque social media status, Jelly Belly's Facebook fan page boasts a respectable 236,302 members (as of Nov. 12) and the interactive toolbar function allows you to post a message and connect to Facebook if you hadn't already. And as far as the latest updates, the window fills up regularly with both corporate and fan input about everything from singer/Jelly Belly aficionado Kina Graniss' (see previous post) upcoming "Ellen" performance (Tuesday, Nov. 15) to a Nov. 11 corporate post listing the 11 best-selling Jelly Belly bean flavors (Berry Blue Blueberry, Bubble Gum, Buttered Popcorn, Coconut, Cotton Candy, Green Apple, Juicy Pear, Licorice, Very Cherry and Watermelon).

As an ardent Jelly Belly fan myself, I wasn't too surprised to see robust participation on Jelly Belly's Facebook page, but it was encouraging (and a little surprising) to see how often Jelly Belly responded and interacted with fan-generated information. Reacting to one fan's post about Graniss' "Ellen" appearance, Jelly Belly responded "We do and we can't wait! Our DVRs are already set."

The YouTube channel offers a variety of content, including a Kina Graniss-led video factory tour (where you can watch her eat a rotten-egg flavored jelly bean) and recipes and suggestions for using Jelly Belly from folks like Karen Stack, author of "Hello, Cupcake!" and "What's New, Cupcake?" Stack's latest video offers tips on how to make pumpkin-shaped cupcakes using not only Jelly Belly's signature jelly beans, but other Jelly Belly products like gummi fish, one of which she cuts in half  to use the tail for the pumpkin's stem.

"You may not know," Stack tells viewers, "but Jelly Belly makes all different kinds of candy." If that weren't enough, promotion-wise, she then suggests visiting a local candy store or logging on to JellyBelly.com.

While there is no corporate Twitter identity for Jelly Belly, its cycling team is well-represented (@JellyBellyTeam)  and those who follow the team can read blog posts about how the team fared in China's Tour of Taihu or see photos of team cyclist Brad Huff meeting Japanese fans.

JellyBelly.com would earn high marks for "organization" from Halvorson and as long as someone can find the home page (Google it), the sky's the limit. The site is chock-full of both user-friendly and high-quality content, both company- and fan-generated.

So whether you need to shop for candy or find a winter-themed computer desktop wallpaper (listed under "Fun Stuff"), you're never more than a few clicks away.

288,000 Reasons to Pay Attention to Jelly Belly

If you did a Google News search this week on "jelly bean," you would have found, right at the top of the results, stories about singer Kina Grannis and her newest single, "In Your Arms." When I watched her video (take a look), I saw one of the most clever product placements ever - 288,000 Jelly Belly jelly beans used to create intricate mosaics that served as Graniss' props and backdrop.

What's even more amazing than the music video itself is the YouTube video about how it was made, detailing the year's worth of painstaking effort that brought forth "In Your Arms." In the opening of the "making of" video, the stacks of bins clearly marked with Jelly Belly flavors like green apple, kiwi and peach reinforce the candy's unique offerings. At other times, the brand's logo is clearly visible.

On its Web site, Jelly Belly actively promotes Graniss, driving visitors to its Facebook page, which features the video and an exclusive interview. The catch: you can only see them if you "like" the page first. This is a classic "call-to-action" if I've ever seen one.

Clearly, Graniss is a fan of Jelly Belly. Indeed, the Facebook page tells us her "'flavorite' Jelly Belly beans are Piña Colada, Juicy Pear, Coconut and Chocolate Pudding" and shows us a colorful jar of "Kina's Mix" as a wall photo.

Jelly Belly art isn't new but it's certainly unique. After all, have you ever seen a portrait of Mona Lisa made with Butterfinger or a rendering of Princess Diana in Hershey's Kisses? Probably not, but you can see both of these subjects and so many more at Jelly Belly Bean Art Collection. There's even a "Bean Art Maker" on the company Web site, where you can upload a photo to see how it looks in Jelly Belly. You can also submit your photograph to the company or share it with friends on Facebook or Twitter.

 
Sure, there are other artists who work in foods like potato chips, hamburger buns or pretzels, but this unusual variety of art gives people a chance to create something memorable while interacting with a brand-name product that's as different as the art created. With 90 different flavors and as many colors and shades, using Jelly Belly as a palette makes sense if your medium has to be candy.

And if music videos or candy art don't appeal to you, Jelly Belly has a stable of athletes competing under its banner in sports as varied as rodeo, cycling, minor league baseball and golf. And because "candy isn't the only thing you'll find with the Jelly Belly name on it," each sport is now branded with the unmistakable Jelly Belly logo as well as with the superlative tagline "if our name is on it, you know that it's top of the line."

Jelly Belly's adherence to "brand identity ideals" is hard to miss, whether with the product itself (jelly beans) or the marketing initiatives that support and promote it, Jelly Belly works hard to ensure the recognizability, consistency and enduring nature of its brand.

Jelly Belly: Simply Spectacular or Spectacularly Simple?

In 1976, while our nation celebrated its Bicentennial, something even more historic was happening in a little California town called Los Angeles, where Jelly Belly jelly beans were born.

Jelly Belly has always been my bean of choice. There are other brands - from Brach's to Russell Stover to the oddly named Just Born - but they're mere pretenders to the pectin throne.

So when given the task of evaluating a brand for "Professional Communications in the Digital Age," I found my inspiration in a four-pound jar of sugar, corn syrup and food starch (and a few other ingredients).

Unlike GE, with its "imagination at work" slogan right at the top of its home page, finding what drives Jelly Belly as a brand takes a little bit of digging, much like finding your favorite flavor (mine's licorice) among the other 48 in the jar. But buried in the brand's rich history, which dates back to 1869, is their mission statement, which can be inferred from the description of Jelly Belly itself - "the world's #1 gourmet jelly bean."

The simplicity of such a statement might not work for a global conglomerate making everything from appliances to steam turbines, but it's perfect for Jelly Belly. After all, the company's mission is to make a gourmet jelly bean that is better than all the rest.

Company history, however, was much easier to locate, listed under "About Jelly Belly" and detailing not only the origins of Jelly Belly, but of the jelly bean itself. I was intrigued to learn that Gustav Goerlitz's confectionary company, now known for its gourmet jelly beans, also invented the popular (and seasonally appropriate) candy corn.  

But the company's turning point came in 1976, when a candy distributor came up with a novel idea for jelly beans - making them with "true-to-life" flavors and natural ingredients. Since then, Jelly Belly has had millions of fans, from ordinary citizens to heads of state. President Ronald Reagan inspired Jelly Belly to create a blueberry flavor "so he could serve red, white and blue beans at his inaugural parties," according to company lore.  

In addition to its 50 official flavors of signature gourmet beans and candy corn, the company offers an eclectic of variety of bean-based/themed treats.  Want a vomit- or skunk-flavored jelly bean? Look no further that their "BeanBoozled" line. Need an electrolyte boost on the playing field? Sports Beans is the answer.

Appealing to taste buds is just part of Jelly Belly, and the company has created a product not only to consume, but to experience. There's a link for educators and students to provide information on the product and another for a virtual tour of the sequential process of making Jelly Bellies. And for those interested in travel destinations, there's a link to schedule a free factory tour.

Finally, Jelly Belly aims at a wide target audience and cleverly includes an "Ideas" section on its Web site, providing suggestions on how to customize gifts for holidays, birthdays and other special occasions. It also offers Jelly Belly-themed merchandise, like t-shirts and candy dispensers, along with gift cards for the creatively challenged.

While I'm not sure I'll be purchasing vomit-flavored beans for any of my loved ones (but maybe for an old boss) or trekking to Fairfield, California for a tour, it's nice to know a consumer has such bizarre interesting options available.