Week 2: Rock You Reset, Dave's Killer Bread new products sweepstakes promotion.

 

As a Fredmeyers employee, I see new food products all the time. Recently, the Fredmeyers I work at put in a new Dave’s Killer Bread (DKB) bread stand. I wouldn’t have looked twice, but as a fan of DKB, it caught my attention. The slogan on the side of the bread stand said “Rock Your Reset!”. After a quick Google search, I found out that DKB was launching new products and using a prize sweepstake to engage with consumers. 

The article,” Dave’s Killer Bread launches new breakfast bars to ‘Rock your Reset’” by PRNewswire, was about DKB’s “updated better-for-you-food” (DKB, 2026) that launched with the new year in 2026. The updated healthy products are protein bars, bite snacks, bar snacks, and new breakfast bars. The article mentions how “45% of Americans” (DKB, 2026) will eat healthier in the first month of the year and how DKB is taking advantage of that to promote new healthy products. After mentioning all the new flavors of bars and snacks the article explains the meaning of ‘Rock Your Rest’ . ‘Rock Your Reset’ is regarding a sweepstakes to win a VIP concert prize pack. This includes money for concert tickets, airfare, and hotels. DKB is using this sweepstake to “help their consumers reboot in January" (DKB, 2026) and “rock their whole year” (DKB, 2026). 

The Value Proposition of Dave’s Killer Bread is about giving people a second chance by creating healthy products. DKB is known for its healthy breads full of seeds and grains. After looking through their website, I learned that one-third of the employees at DKB are ex-convicts. For every product that is bought from Dave’s Killer Bread, the consumer is “supporting a more hopeful future”. This is what makes DKB different from other organic and non-GMO bread brands. DKB’s brand is about supporting second-chance employment while eating healthy. 

Dave Dahl helped start Dave’s Killer Bread before it was sold to Flower Foods. Dave was in prison for 15 years, and when he got out, he started selling bread at a farmers' market in Portland, Oregon. While in prison, Dave learned to play the guitar.  To promote DKB he used his musical talents for commercials. While Dave’s no longer part of the company, the mascot for DKB is meant to pay homage to Dave and what he represents for the company. 

The marketing relevance to promoting new products using a chance to win concert tickets is because Dave Dahl was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in December of 2025. DKB’s slogan is ‘Bread, Amplified’. Dave’s Killer Bread, using music to promote their new products, is also staying true to their image. Entry to the sweepstakes can be done daily. This also increases the chances the consumer has to engage with DKB. I think this marketing strategy is to help combat the challenge they have regarding the customer demographic. The majority of DKB consumers are older people who have the purchasing power to buy organic products and are more concerned with their health. I think the people who are more likely to want free concert tickets are those who lack the financial means to purchase a concert ticket on their own. Reflecting on my own experiences, it wasn’t until I was 23 years old that I went to my first concert. ‘Rock Your Reset’ is a unique way to engage with a demographic that normally wouldn’t purchase organic products. 

While I think ‘Rock Your Rest’ is a fun and creative way to engage with consumers, DKB is lacking when it comes to promoting the sweepstakes. DKB’s YouTube channel only has 2 shorts with fewer than 100 comments each video, and their Facebook page only has 2 posts with fewer than 20 shares combined and zero reels. DKB is doing better numbers on Instagram, but with only two posts and zero insta reels, they could be doing more. If I were the product manager, I would find a partnership with musicians to promote ‘Rock Your Reset’. A musician who has a tour that's coming up this year, or maybe a musician who did time in prison, who has changed their life around once they got out. The products don’t have any information that mentions ‘Rock Your Reset’ or winning concert tickets, so I would include a QR code to the products that take the consumer to a link to enter the sweepstakes and see the new products. 

What I learned from this assignment is the importance of staying true to the image and how partnering with celebrities to promote new products is a way to expand consumer engagement. While looking for articles regarding this promotion it was hard to find actual information about what the products tasted like. A youtuber reacting to the new breakfast bar would have been great to see. Plus, the articles all said information provided by DKB. Reading that made the article less newsworthy and more commercial like. I think a sweepstakes and catchy slogan to promote new products is creative, but it can only go so far to engage with consumers. Other outlets are necessary to promote new products beside a colorful bread stand in a Fredmeyers.