M as sa c h u se t t s I ns t i t u t e of Tec h no log y

Spam

M ar ke t i ng an Ident i t y

Food i n Ame r i c an H i stor y - 21 H .S 01 Anya Z i lbers t e i n

F r om the f r ont line s of Wor ld Wa r I I to t he k it ch en cou nt ers o f A mer ic an hou sehold s, S p am has b ee n in te g r at ed in to Am erican cu ltur e thr ou g h a var ie ty o f ap p licat io ns. S p am’s evo lution i n t he A mer ica n mark et p lace has b ee n d efine d b y the cor p or at e i ni ti at ives ta k en to shap e t he p r o d uc t’s i d en ti ty. F oll ow in g the in it ia l booming sales i n Wor ld Wa r I I , S p a m str ug g led to d ist an ce i tse lf f r om the utilit arian p erc ep ti on t hat many A mer ica ns had d evelope d f r om the st or ie s of the

p r od uc t on t he f r ont lin es . As a resul t, H or mel, the compa ny that d evelope d S p am, in v est ed heavily in to mark et in g strate g ie s that f ocu sed on hou seho ld a p p licat ions of S p am. Al thou g h these st r at egies p r ov ed succ essfu l in t he 1 9 5 0 ’s and early 1 9 6 0 ’s, S p am’s p op ular i ty d r amat ica lly d ecr ea s ed as H or mel r ed uc e d the

p r od uc t’s mar k et in g p r ese nce i n main la nd A mer ica .

T he und erly in g p erc ep ti on of S p am thr oug hou t it s p op ular it y in A mer ica w as t hat of a p r od uc t m ad e for the mili ta r y . T h is shar ed b eli ef by consum ers l ed H or mel on a n up hill b at tle of mar k et in g S p am w it h a ne w id en ti ty, a b at tle that see mingl y cou ld not b e w on. Reg ard less of the ma r k et in g eff or ts b y H o r mel, there existe d a st igm a in the mar k et p lace of w hich t he g r an d iose cor p or at e mar k et in g te ch ni q ues cou ld only c ov er f or so long . T hese f or ced id en ti ti es that H or mel cr ea te d b egan t o d issolv e with the shift of Hor mel’s f ocu s tow ar d mo r e i nviti ng mar k et s.

I n cont r ast to t he strain ed eff or ts p ut f or w ard b y H or mel in mai nlan d A mer ica to cr ea te a n ew id en ti ty f or S p am, the p r od uc t flo u r ished in d ep en d en tly of mar k et in g camp ai g ns i n Asia n a nd isla nd na ti ons. F oll ow in g Wor ld War I I , the un p r ed ict ab le sup p ly of S p am caused the p r od uc t t o be v ie w ed as a nov elt y i te m in

these emerg in g mar k et s. Once d ist r ib ution w as e sta b lished to t hese c onsum ers , they w ere q uick to a d o p t S p am i nt o thei r loc al e v ery d ay cu isi ne . T his or g an ic g r ow th o f S p am’s p op ular it y has allow ed the p r od uc t t o r emai n a sta p le fo od in the d ie t of islan d na ti on s.

I n t he 1 9 3 0 ’s , the mea t i nd ustr y thr e w ou t t ho usand s of p ound s of unused p or k sho ul d er m ea t e ach y ea r . T he p or k sho u l d er w as consi d ere d to b e of less er v alue than tha t of other p or k cu ts, an d the t ime i t t ook to r emov e t he sh oul d er meat f r om the b one w as typi cally not w or th th e i nvestmen t. Ja y H or mel, the CE O of H or mel Food s C o r p or at i on a t t he ti me , saw this unu sed meat sur p lu s as a p r om isi ng op p or tuni ty. T hr ou g hou t the 1 9 3 0 ’s, H or mel had b ecome in cr ea sin g ly mo r e in te r est ed in can n e d p r od uc ts a nd thei r e xtended shelf life. Af te r see in g the p r eviou s suc cess of in d ustr ia l - siz e d can ne d ha m f r om the la te 1 9 2 0 ’s, H or mel set out to cr ea te a small, f amily - f r ie nd l y f oo d p r od uc t that utilized the shou ld er m ea t. Wit h this v isi on i n min d , the H or mel Food s C or p or at ion i nt r od uc ed S p am in

1 9 3 7 . 1

S p am ’s int r od uc ti on in t o the mark et p lace coin cid ed w it h the b eginn in g of

Wor ld Wa r I I . J ay Hor m el, an isolat io ni st, p erso na lly opp osed t he Un it e d S ta te s ’ in v olv emen t i n t he w ar. I t was not unt il see in g the n at ion’s sup p or t fol low in g the Pe arl Harbor at ta ck s that H or mel r ea liz e d the mark et in g p ow er that the war cou l d p r ov id e for the n ewl y in v en te d can ne d p r od uc t. S p am w as d ee med th e p erf ect f ood f o r f ee d in g tro op s. I t was consider ed ch ea p , nour ishin g , f illin g , an d v ery s helf -

1 Wy man, C aro ly n. S p am: A Biog r ap hy . S an Diego , C A : H arc our t B r ace , 1 9 9 9 . Print .

p p . 4 - 5

sta b le. 2 S p am b e in g in clu d ed in t he w ar m ea nt that H or mel Food C om p an y cou ld r ea ch thousand s of ne w user s w it hin t he milit ary , exp an d it s d ist r ib ution to many d iff erent areas of the w or ld , an d p igg y b ack on the mar k et in g of heigh te ne d na ti ona l p r id e b ack ho me.

A s H or mel expe cted, t he sale s of S p am sk y r ock et ed d r amat ica lly d ur in g the w ar. Bet w ee n 19 3 9 an d 1 9 4 2 , ne t sa les d oubled to a lm ost $ 1 2 0 mill i on. By 1 9 4 4 , it w as e sti mate d that 9 0 % of all of H or mel’s c a nn ed g ood s w e r e b ei ng d ist r ib uted to milit ary tro op s or to milit ary ai d p r og r ams. 3 I t b eca me evid en t t hat w it h these lar g e mili ta r y contracts, mar k et in g w as n ot the most esse nt ia l asp ect of H or mel’s b usine ss p lan . T he Un it ed S ta te s milit ary w as clearly not p ur ch asi ng S p am as a r esp onse to it s mar k et i ng c amp ai g n, b ut in st ea d b eca use of it s p r act ica l quali ti es. A d d it iona lly , H or mel w as n ot giv en mu ch f r ee d om thr oug hou t t he w ar f or mar k et in g on t he f r ont l in es , as t he mil it ary contro lled the p ack aging f o r log ist ica l p ur p oses.

Du e t o the lack o f H or m el’s acti v e mark et in g , S p am ’s early id en ti ty w as p r ed om in an tly a resul t of the s old ie r s ’ op in ions. S p am b eca me one of t he mo st ov erstock ed f ood s in t h e mili ta r y supp ly ch ai n a nd as a r esult, many sol d ie r s b eca me exh auste d of this f ood . T he r ep et it iven ess of Sp am in the mili t ary d ie t led to a n over all ne g at ive p erc ep ti on b y sold ie r s acr oss the fr ont line s. S p a m w as

of te n ref err ed to a s “ the ham that d id n’t p ass i ts p hy sical” an d “ meat loa f w it hou t

2 Wy man, C aro ly n. S p am: A Biog r ap hy . S an Diego , C A : H arc our t B r ace , 1 9 9 9 . Print .

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3 Wy man, C aro ly n. S p am: A Biog r ap hy . S an Diego , C A : H arc our t B r ace , 1 9 9 9 . Print .

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b asi c tr ai ni ng” . A lthou g h the n ame of the p r od uc t was not i nt en d ed to b y a k nown acr onym to t he p ublic , the sold ie r s be g an d escr ib in g the foo d as “ S Pe ci al Ar my M ea t”. 4

By p r ov id in g S p am on the fr ont line s, H or mel cou ld use this consumpt ion as a case f or how the p r od uc t wo u ld p erf o r m w it h litt le or no mar k et in g .

Un f or tuna te ly f or H or m el, the many negati v e st or ie s that or igina te d f r o m the f r ont line s d id not give Horm el confid en ce i n t heir pro d uc t g oing f or w a r d in the p ost - w ar er a . One e xample of a sold ie r ’s negati v e op in ion of S p am w as t hat of Walte r M cC lat ch ey. M cC lat ch ey and his unit w ere fr ee z in g an d sta r v in g one w in te r d ay, w ai ti ng f or the Air For c e p lane to d eli v er a d r op - of f of f oo d to thei r line . As the p lane came ov erh ea d , his unit ch ee r ed f or the a nt ici p at ion of f ood . H ow ever , w hen t he b ox es ca me clo ser to the g r ound e v er y one cou ld r ea d the b ig l og o on the sid e : “ S p am” . M cC lat ch e y r eca lls, “ We shot the hell out of it ” . H e went on to sa y that even the Ge r man p r isone r s r efus ed to ea t i t. T hese t y p es of stor ie s of te n cir c ulate d thr ou g hou t t he tro op s, w hich solid ified a ne g at ive p erc ep ti o n t ow ard the p r od uc t among st t h ei r p r imary consum ers . 5

It soon b eca me clear that S p am had acq uir ed a solely utilit a r ia n p erc ep ti on.

H or mel u nd erstood it s p lace i n t he mar k et an d w as n ot t oo co ncerne d w it h the ne g at ive associa ti ons a t f irst b eca use thei r sale s w ere b oom in g . H ow ever , at the f irst g limpse of A llied v ict or y , it b eca me ap p are nt to H or mel that t heir busine ss

4 Wy man, C aro ly n. S p am: A Biog r ap hy . S an Diego , C A : H arc our t B r ace , 1 9 9 9 . Print .

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5 Wy man, C aro ly n. S p am: A Biog r ap hy . S an Diego , C A : H arc our t B r ace , 1 9 9 9 . Print .

p p . 2 1

mo d el w as n ot fu n d amen ta lly sou nd or sustai na b le . H or mel only had o ne significan t d ist r ib utor , t he Un it ed S ta t es milit ar y , w it h no solid g r asp at all on t he d om est ic mar k et . I n t h e la te r y ea r s of the war , H or mel d eci d ed to t u r n t heir f ocu s b ack to t he Un it ed S ta t e s main land. 6 Wit h this ne w f ocu s, H or mel nee d ed to b egin it s use of heavy mar k et i ng to cr ea te a ne w , p osi ti v e i d en ti ty w it h the U.S. consum er.

Once the war b egan t o d ie d ow n a nd the U. S . in v olv emen t dr amat ica lly d ecr ea sed , the a mo unt of S p am or d ers f r o m th e mili ta r y p osts in the i s land nat ions d eclin ed significan tly b eca use the mili ta r y ne e d had subsi d ed . L ook in g f or a n ew mar k et to cap tur e, H or mel set t heir ey es on the hou sewiv es of m ai nlan d A mer ica . Wit h the heigh te ne d na ti ona l p r id e fol low in g t he stro ng su ccess of the A mer ica n milit ary in Wor ld Wa r I I , H or mel k ne w they c o uld cap it ali z e on t heir str ong milit ary in v olv emen t. F r om a strate g ic p oint o f v ie w , H or mel in cr ea sed thei r S p am ad v ertisi ng c amp ai g ns i n or d er to g et f a milie s in tro d uc ed to S p am b efor e the war w as ov er an d to e nsur e a sea ml ess t r an sit ion fo r w hen t he sold ie r s came b ack 7 .

Wit h the conclu sion of the w ar, as e xpect ed , H o r mel’s bott om line b egan t o sh r in k . H or mel need ed to r esp ond to the changin g consum er q uick ly in or d er to r emai n relev an t i n t he mar k et p lace. H or mel h ad p in p oint ed sever al p ote nt ia l mar k et s, b ut it b eca me ne cessa r y f or them to u nd erstan d the t r en d s of these

6 Wy man, C aro ly n. S p am: A Biog r ap hy . S an Diego , C A : H arc our t B r ace , 1 9 9 9 . Print .

p p . 3 4

7 Wan sin k , Br ia n. C hangi ng Ea ti ng Hab i ts on t he H om e F r ont : L ost L esso ns fr om Wor ld Wa r I I Rese arc h. A mer ica n M ark et in g A ssociat ion. J ou r n a l o f P u blic P ol ic y & Mar ke t in g , V ol. 21 , No. 1 , S ocial M ark et in g I ni ti at ives (Sp r in g , 2 0 0 2 ), p p . 9 0 - 92

p r osp ect ive user s. A s can ne d an d p r ese r v ed f o od s be came mor e p op ular in the k it ch en s of A mer ica n h ous ewiv es, there w as a p ush b y mo st foo d co m p an ie s to ap p ea l to the ea sy- p r ep arati on trend . 8 , 9 H or mel b eli eved that S p am had the p ote nt ia l to f it w ell in to this ca te g or y . T he ne xt ste p in H or mel’s mar k et in g strate g y w as t o ed uc at e the consum er . Given t hat S p am w as a r ela ti v e ly ne w p r od uc t i n t he k it ch en , a si g ni f ica nt p erc en t age of the i nt en d ed user s w ere com p let ely unawar e of how to i ncor p or at e t h is p r od uc t i nt o thei r meals. H or mel had thus id en ti f ie d a n ew niche f or S p am in the mark et p lace, an d therefo r e und erstood that they n ee d ed to i nvest mor e i n mark et in g . I nst ea d of allow in g consum ers the chance t o expe r imen t with S p a m in thei r k it ch en an d f in d thei r op in ion s in d e p en d en tly, H or mel co uld cr aft t he ir id en ti ty i n t he mar k et p lace thr oug h str at egic m a r k et in g 10 .

I n t he 1 9 5 0 ’s and int o the e arly 1 9 6 0 ’s, H or mel r ea ch ed ou t t o m ultip le ad v ertisi ng c om p an ie s to help p ush thei r p r od u ct in to t he consum er m ark et thr oug h v ariou s mar k et in g strate g ie s . One p art icular in d ivid ual w ho h elp ed H or mel w it h this ch alle nge w as J ea n Wa d e Ri n d laub. Rindl aub w as on e of the f irst w om en to b ecome a p ow erf ul a d v ertisi ng ex ec utive in the U ni te d S ta t es . S he

8 Neuh aus, J essa my n. Th e Wa y to a M an ' s H ea r t: G en d er R oles, Do mesti c I d eolo g y , an d C ook b ook s in the 1 9 5 0 s. J our na l of S ocial H ist or y , V ol. 32 , No. 3 ( S p r in g , 1 9 9 9 ), p p . 5 2 9- 555

9 Pa tt en , M arg uer it e. S p a m: Th e Coo k b ook . L ond on: O ctop us Pub. Gr oup, 2 0 0 1 . Print .

10 Wan sin k , Br ia n. C hangi ng Ea ti ng Hab i ts on t he H om e F r ont : L ost L esso ns fr om Wor ld Wa r I I Rese arc h. A mer ica n M ark et in g A ssociat ion. J ou r n a l o f P u blic P ol ic y & Mar ke t in g , V ol. 21 , No. 1 , S ocial M ark et in g I n it i at ives (Sp r in g , 2 0 0 2 ), p p . 9 2 - 99

id en ti f ie d that in or d er to achieve the desired ne w image f or S p am , H or mel nee d ed t o d ist an ce i tse lf f r om the uti lita r ia n i mag e t ha t man y sold ie r s brou g ht b ack ho me f r om w a r . Rindl aub had two main f ocu ses on t he Horm el a cco unt. O ne f ocu s w as to p r ed ict the e v olu ti on of S p am in the mark et p lace, w hich in v olv ed id e nt ify in g p ote nt ia l mar k et s, b oth d om est ic a nd in te r na ti o na l . H er second f ocu s w as t o f in d w ays in wh ich S p am cou ld ap p ea l to the classic A mer ica n housew ife.

F ocu sin g sp eci f ica lly on her second obj ect ive, R in d laub help ed d evelop exte nsi v e st r at egies for in te g r at in g S p am in to t he A mer ica n househo ld . One of her main strate g ies w as t hr oug h the use of co o k b o ok s. By outlini ng to ho usew ives the v ariou s w ays that t hey cou ld use the p r od uc t, H or mel w as a b le t o b et t er contro l the p erc ep ti on of S p am . T he coo k b ook s in clu d ed all v ariet ie s of d ishes w it h the ultimat e g oal of in cor p or at in g S p am in to a s ma ny d iff erent asp ect s of d ai ly life as p ossib le. S ect ion he ad in g s in the cook b ook in clu d e ti tle s suc h as “ C hild r en ’s L unches” , “ S p r ea d C r ack ers w it h S p am S p r ea d ” , an d “ F r en ch T oast S p a m - w iches” . T his lar g e mar k et in g exp en d it ur e exemp lified H or mel’s d esi r e t o m ov e S p am away f r om a on e - meal p r od u ct an d towar ds a mo r e v ersati le mea t t hat cou ld b e used in all meals 11 .

T hr ou g hou t t he late 1 9 5 0 ’s and earl y 1 9 6 0 ’s , t his mar k et in g camp ai g n k ep t S p am as a sta p le i te m i n g r ocer y stor e s. A let te r b y Rindl aub in 1 9 6 3 to Pa t Dolan , a H or mel executive, d et ai ls h er be lief s on S p am ’s ba tt le w it h co mpe ti ti on a nd

S p am’s r ecov ery f r o m de cr ea sin g sales. Rindl a ub sta te s, “ T her e wer e a s many as

11 Rindl aub , J ea n Wa d e, 1 9 0 4 - 1 9 9 1 . Pa p ers o f J ea n Wa d e Ri nd laub, 1 8 9 9 - 1 9 9 1 (inclusiv e), 1 0 . 6 , New F oo d Id e a s , 1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 3 .

1 8 0 imi ta tor s. But thr o ug h all the y ea r s w e have had the a cco unt, it has k ep t i ts No. 1 shar e of m ark et . S erv ice ad v ertisi ng h ad a lot t o d o w it h this – w ays to ba k e an d b r oil an d f r y ham, S p am - w hich es, S p am an d egg s – a w or l d of ne w an d ea sy

id ea s. ” 12 F r om this q uote, it is clea r that H or mel’ s cor p or at e initiativ es h elp ed p r ese r v e t he image of S p am even d ur in g the t imes wh en the q uality of f ood w as hig hly d eb at ed b y the men w ho h ad r et u r ne d f r om w a r .

A not her cor p or at e i ni ti at ive used to main ta in t he sale s of Spa m f r om the lat e 19 4 0 ’s th r oug h the 1 9 5 0 ’s w as Th e H or mel Gir ls , a p erf or ming g r o up . On any g iven S und ay ev en in g , the p r og r am Music wit h t he Ho r me l G irl s w oul d b e b r oad cast ed acr oss the na ti on on t he r ad io, the p r imary sou r ce of en te r ta in ment f or mid d le c lass Am eric a a t t his ti me . T his p r og r am w as a b an d of f ema le Wor ld War I I v et erans w ho w e r e or g an iz ed to ma r k et H or mel’s f ood p r o d uc ts . 13 T he g r oup wo u ld also tou r t he na ti on , p erf or m ing in a var ie ty o f set ti ngs includ in g v illage b an d shells, thea te r s, an d univer sit ie s. T hey used an assor tmen t of sales

strate g ie s as well as mu sical p erf or mance s to se ll Hor mel’s pro d uc ts. T hese strate g ie s in clu d ed in - p erso n cook in g d emos a nd p erso na l stor ie s fr om the fr ont lin e s. 14

12 Rindl aub , J ea n Wa d e, 1 9 0 4 - 1 9 9 1 . Pa p ers o f J ea n Wa d e Ri nd laub, 1 8 9 9 - 1 9 9 1 (inclusiv e), 1 0 . 7 , New F oo d Id e a s , 1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 3 .

13 Wy man, C aro ly n. S p am: A Biog r ap hy . S an Diego , C A : H arc our t B r ace , 1 9 9 9 . Print . p p . 1 8

14 S ull ivan, J ill. Th e H or m el Girls. U ni v ersity o f I ll in ois Press. Am e rica n M u si c , V ol. 2 5 , No. 3 ( F all, 2 0 0 7 ), p p . 2 8 2 - 3 1 1

H or mel m ad e a si g ni f ica nt d eci sion t o conti nue the si mplici ty o f S p am f oll ow in g the w ar, main ly b eca use Ja y H or mel lik ed his p r od u cts to b e si mple an d to have unp r et en ti ous n ames. 15 Because of this b landness, the p r od uc t was of te n consid ered or d in ary . T hr oug h the p r o d uc ti ons of Th e H or mel Gir l s an d the use of eveni ng r ad io p r og r am ming, a mor e gr an d iose ap p ea r an ce w as for med aro und the b r an d . T his image w as used to d isgu ise the uti l it arian p erc ep ti on that or igina lly came out of the war . T h e use of v et erans a s p erf or mer s w as a lso u sed t o ap p ea l to all of the f or mer t r oops w ho m ay h a v e had p oor exp erien ces w it h the p r od uc t d ur in g thei r ser v ice .

By the 19 6 0 ’s the can ne d f ood mar k et b eca me v ery sat ur at ed w it h com p et it or s. M ark et in g camp ai g ns such as Th e H or mel Gir ls be came too exp en sive as t he r et ur n on i nvestmen t b egan t o d w in d le. M an y at trib ute t his d ecr ea se of the p r og r a m ’s p op ular it y to t he r ep lacemen t of r ad io b y a n ew in v en ti on, te lev isi on. B eca use of these ch an g es, S p am stru g g led to mai nt ai n i ts hol d on Am erican ho us ewiv es. Ar ound this ti me, H or mel d eci d ed to f ocu s it s eff or ts on mor e p r om isi ng emer g in g mar k et s , na mely H awaii an d A sia . Because of this r ed uc ti on i n mark e ti ng , S p am then b egan t o ad op t a nov elt y it em image in the

U. S . mar k et p lace. F r om the 197 0 ’s an d on, afte r the i ni ti al d eclin e, S p a m w as a b le to main ta i n a st ea d y mar k et shar e i n t he can ne d meat sect or . T od ay, S p am is r egu lar l y in te g r at ed in to the mea ls of ap p r ox imat ely 3 0 % of A mer ica n househo ld s. A lthou g h the p r o d uc t m ai nt ai ns st r ong s ale s , it is often associa te d w it h i mpov erished r egions b eca use of it s low cost.

15 Wy man, C aro ly n. S p am: A Biog r ap hy . S an Diego , C A : H arc our t B r ace , 1 9 9 9 . Print . p p . 5

I n cont r ast to S p am’s h i stor y in the cont in en ta l Un it ed S ta t es, this p r od uc t had an en ti r ely d iff eren t t r aj ect or y in d iff erent g eog r ap hical areas of th e wo r ld . F r om the resea r ch that w as cond uc te d b y a d v e r ti sem en t a g en cie s an d in d ivid uals lik e J ea n Ri nd laub, H or mel be g an to not ice an i ncr ea se i n demand f r o m mar k et s suc h as H awaii , the P hil ip p in es, an d other isla n d na ti ons b eginn in g in t he late 1 9 5 0 ’s 16 . I n a contrad ict i ng str at egy f r o m w hat H or mel imple ment ed in the main land U. S . , the comp an y p ut v ery lit tle mar k et in g r esour ces in to t hese i slan d mar k et s tow ar d s the e nd of Wor ld War I I . I n t h e la te 1 9 4 0 ’s, loc al i slan d stor es an d ne igh b or hoo d s w er e sup p li ed w it h S p am a s milita r y r eli ef or w hen t her e was excess stock in the mili ta r y supp ly ch ai n. Because of this unp r ed ict ab le supp ly availa b ilit y , S p am w as i nst ea d v ie w ed as a nov elt y p r od uc t. 17

A s the mai nlan d A mer ic an hou sehold b eca me a le ss at tracti v e mark et f or H or mel, they tur ne d th ei r f ocu s tow ar d these isla nd mar k et s that had in cor p or at ed S p am or g an ica lly in to t heir d ie t with mini mal m ark et in g eff or ts b y the cor p or at ion. A s an examp le, S p am mu subi , a sushi- lik e rice a nd S p am r oll , b eca me a p op ular sna c k an d lu nch f o od item in H awaii w it hou t t he eff or ts of big - n a me ad v ertise r s lik e R in d laub d evelopi ng r eci p es . 18

16 Rindl aub , J ea n Wa d e, 1 9 0 4 - 1 9 9 1 . Pa p ers o f J ea n Wa d e Ri nd laub, 1899 - 1 9 9 1 (inclusiv e), 1 0 . 6 - 1 0 . 7 , New F oo d Id e a s , 1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 3 .

17 M iyar es, I ne s. E xpr essi ng “L ocal C ultu r e” in H a w ai ’i. A mer ica n Ge og r ap hical S ociet y . G e ogr a p hic a l R e view , V ol. 98 , No. 4 ( Oc t. , 2 0 0 8 ), p p . 5 2 5 - 531.

18 M iyar es, I ne s. E xpr essi ng “L ocal C ultu r e” in H a w ai ’i. A mer ica n Ge og r ap hical S ociet y . G e ogr a p hic a l R e view , V ol. 98 , No. 4 ( Oc t. , 2 0 0 8 ), p p . 5 1 3 - 520.

Once the si g ni f ica nt siz e of the p ote nt ia l isla nd an d A sia n mark et w as r ea liz ed , H or mel be g an to i nvest i n mark et in g an d d ist r ib ution to mee t t he d eman d s in ste ad of en ti r ely f ocu sin g on the d o mesti c m ark et . T he eff ect s of

cor p or at e mark et in g b eca me ap p arent in the la te 1 9 5 0 ’s. As mo r e p r o d uc t te sti ng an d mar k et in g w as com p let ed b y H or mel, mo r e var ie ti es of S p am b eca me availa b le i n t he isla nd a n d A sia n mark et s. E ach v ariet y ap p ea led to t he loc al cu isi ne . F or example , in C hina the S p am f or mu la conta in s mo r e mea t a nd less sa lt in or d er to a cco mm o d a te the cultur al t ast es. 19

T his mo v emen t fr om v i r tually no m ar k et in g in the e arly 1 9 5 0 ’s to a la r g e a lloc at ion i n t he 1 9 6 0 ’s is a d irect cont r ast to t hat of m ai nlan d A mer ica . As S p am ha d p r og r esse d f r om a sta p le i te m to a novelty it em thr oug hou t t he ma in land U. S . , S p am ’s prese nce in A sia n a nd isla nd mar k et s d i d the complet ely opp osite an d had d evelope d f r om a n ov el ty pro d uc t t o an st ap le gr ocer y it em . I n t hese reg ions, can ne d f ood s do not car r y the sa me “ p oor f ood ” sti g ma as i n mai nlan d Un it ed S ta te s . C an ni ng f ood is n ece ssary f or asp ect s of transp or ta ti on such as shelf life w hen d eli v ering pro d uc ts t o isla nd na ti ons v ia s hip p in g r outes . S in ce gr ocer y

stor es often conta in ed main ly can ne d an d p r ese r v ed f oo d , the fact t hat S p am w as a ca n ne d f ood d i d not le ad to t he imp r essi on t hat S p am w as a “ p oor p ers on’s f ood ” ; in ste ad , it f it w ell w it h t he exist in g g r o cer y sto r e p r od uc ts. A d d it iona lly , many com p an ie s p r od uc ed imit at ions of Sp am i n t hese mark et p laces, so t hi s low er q uality co mpe ti ti on hel p ed r emov e an y p erc ei v ed ch ea p ne ss of S p am i n t he eyes of the consumer .