Take time to savour a problem before taking a bite out of it

In a Pringles survey, 43% of consumers admitted to getting their hands stuck in a Pringles can, and they weren’t happy about it.

It was clearly a problem that needed to be solved. But what was the problem?

The easiest one that jumps out is Pringles packaging was too small which needed to be changed. People getting their hand stuck in the can to get the product out was annoying almost half of their customers.

But the folks at Pringles saw it differently.

Instead, they defined the problem as: "Half our customers believe getting their hand stuck in a Pringles can is inconvenient. We need to change that belief"

They saw it a customer perception problem, not a packaging problem.

Their solution: a highly visible advertising campaign to shift the perception away from inconvenience to acceptance.

In 2022, Pringles' US Super Bowl ad campaign showed people living out their daily lives with one hand stuck in a Pringles can. Essentially saying, “We're worth the inconvenience.”

Gareth Maguire, senior director of marketing for Pringles, said: "We took a new direction for this year's campaign, honing in on an insight and real situation only our fans encounter when snacking on Pringles straight out of our one-of-a-kind can. But we put a spin on that idea, proving that our delicious crisps are worth getting your hand stuck in a can for a 'risk' that is inherently Pringles."

They understood that a negative belief can change when it’s reframed as a step toward something better.

From an economic perspective, changing the packaging was estimated to cost $50 million in manufacturing adjustments and repackaging, while the Super Bowl ad was estimated at $5 million.

It's a great reminder that the problem you describe is the problem you solve.

You can view the Super Bowl ad here.

Now with AI you can speed up your thinking to test and reframe the problem you want to solve. I’ve found this prompt very helpful to quickly make sure I’m on the right track:

“We’re trying to [describe the challenge]. What are five different ways to reframe this problem to help us get super clear on our focus?”

Because the way you frame the problem can be the difference of whether you spend $50 million fixing it… or $5 million turning it into an advantage.

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