Gluten-free is now one of fastest-growing segments of the specialty-food market and the fastest-growing products in the global food-allergy and food-intolerance market. Its foods and beverage sales reached $2.6 billion last year, adding to the annual growth rate of 30 percent from 2006 to 2010. With sales predicted to exceed $5 billion by 2015, foods once only on the radar of those with Celiac Disease are now a major player. So what factors induced this brownie bonanza?

Growing Diagnosis of Need
The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy reports that Celiac Disease affects approximately 1 in 133 people — about 2 million people in the United States. European diagnoses far outnumber those in the U.S., which only saw a recent surge. As awareness and diagnoses grow, industry sees a population with growth potential.

Celebrity Factor
One of the fastest ways to jump-start a bandwagon is to make it first-class. Tennis-star Novak Djokovic claims that part of his successful year, which included a number-one ranking and three Grand Slam titles, stemmed from his new gluten-free diet. Elizabeth Hasselbeck, who was actually diagnosed with Celiac Disease, chats about her gluten-free adventures on ABC’s “The View,” and Gwyneth Paltrow blogs about her conversion because the actress views it as healthier.

It Does Everything but Windows
A survey of those intentionally seeking gluten-free products revealed many channels of motivation, some supported by science, others still out for debate (placing it firmly in the news). Of those shoppers, 46 percent believed gluten-free products were healthier, 36 percent viewed it as a weight-loss aid, 24 percent associated gluten-free with quality, and 13 percent claimed benefits regarding hyperactivity/autism.

Why Not?
Amazingly, according to a study by Packaged Facts this year, only 15 percent of consumers intentionally bought a gluten-free product. More than half didn’t realize they were gluten-free. How’s that for a Pepsi challenge? You expand to your specialty market without the risk of alienating a larger crowd. In addition, foods that are naturally gluten-free, such as milk, honey and water, now often add the “gluten-free” mantra to packaging with no additional precautions or expense beyond labeling.

The FDA looks to regulate gluten-free labeling in the coming months as a response to this roaring trend. But for now, grab a gluten-free reindeer by the horns and chomp away. Everyone’s doing it.

For Immediate Release — Oct. 31, 2011

SANDERS\WINGO NAMES SHANTEKA SIGERS AS EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR

AUSTIN, TX — Sanders\Wingo today named Shanteka Sigers as the agency’s executive creative director. Sigers previously held the role of senior vice president and group creative director.

As executive creative director, Sigers will oversee creative direction for the agency’s multiple offices. The group currently maintains a roster of diverse clients from AT&T to Ocean Alexander Yachts and MINI U.S.A.

“For the past five years, Shan continually pushed Sanders\Wingo’s work not only in terms of creativity but also in ingenious strategic execution,” Leslie Wingo, senior vice president said. “Shan combines clever perspective, a storyteller’s sense of delivery and a genuine understanding of business.”

As group creative director, Sigers extended brands into specialized targets, such as millennials and multicultural consumers. She credits strong strategic development in allowing those targeted executions to entice multiple audiences, without fracturing the brand.

“I’ve titled creative presentations ‘These Are the Answers’ for years, because great creative agencies don’t produce campaigns — they seduce you to solutions,” Sigers said.

Sigers’ work experience includes AT&T, McDonalds, Toyota, Chevrolet, State Farm, and multiple products under the Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s and General Mills brands.

A graduate of Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in radio, television and film, she’s a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and Mocha Moms. Her “Library of Maternal Nagging” blog recently received an Austin Chronicle’s Best of Austin award.

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About Sanders\Wingo
Sanders\Wingo is an award-winning, independent advertising agency that has represented some of the most recognizable regional and national brands, including MINI USA, Peter Piper Pizza, U.S. Postal Service, State Farm, General Motors and AT&T. Sanders\Wingo has offices in Austin and El Paso, Texas, with satellite locations in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and San Francisco. For more information on Sanders\Wingo, visit sanderswingo.com.

For Additional Information, Contact:
Wendy Taylor
512.992.2446
wendy@wendytaylor.us

Yes, he was a technical wizard. Certainly, he built a company and a global cult following. However, Steve Jobs also played marketing messiah, bringing a brand back from the brink.

Jobs laid the groundwork and set the tone for one of the best brand reinventions a textbook … er, tablet … will ever cite.

Unabashedly styled, secretive and rebellious, under his leadership technology became bold enough to mingle fashion and trends with innovation and code. Color, music, youth and energy broke from the pack, with others galloping to follow many lengths behind.

Anyone who ever feels their brand is at the corner of dead-end and beat-to-the-ground can look back to Steve Jobs and know solutions always exist within the confidence of leadership.

In 1999, Jobs summed up steering the brand through tough times:
“The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.”

From a man who admired simplicity, it said everything about his brand blueprint.

With our greatest admiration … Option-Shift-Command-Esc.

A new Forrester Report relayed only 16 percent of U.S. marketers plan to include social gaming in their marketing outreach this year. This seems puzzling considering the demographic profile:

• 59 percent of social gamers are women
• 30 percent are Gen-Xers
• High usage among mothers
• Active users of social media and receptive to social media advertising

So why the empty billboards around the gaming landscape? Promotional tie-ins, graphic representation, embedded ads, and new game creation or sponsorships allow for frequently untapped options to a medium with numbers as attractive as television. How much more enticing must the audience become until marketers feel brave enough to play?

Sanders\Wingo drives MINI marketing.

Sanders\Wingo, who developed the winning “Real Adventure is Still Alive” creative ad campaign, is proud to call El Paso home and we look forward to more stellar campaigns and more visitors to The Sun City!

Link to El Paso Times.

A big congratulations goes out to our S\W El Paso teammates for their award-winning El Paso Convention and Visitor’s Bureau tourism video. On top of the two ADDY awards garnered (a local gold and regional silver), they’ve recently been given the honor of a bronze Telly award in the 32nd Annual Telly Awards.