St Ivel in ú3m Shape relaunch

Dairy firm St Ivel is relaunching its ú60m Shape yogurt brand and is backing the move with its biggest advertising campaign for three years.

Dairy firm St Ivel is relaunching its ú60m Shape yogurt brand and is backing the move with its biggest advertising campaign for three years.

The entire Shape range has been reformulated to create a “creamier, more indulgent” taste, but at the same time the fat content has been reduced so that every Shape product now carries the label “virtually fat free”.

A ú3m campaign, which launches with a new commercial from DMB&B, breaks nationally on February 6. Set to the “You’re the one that I want” song from the hit film and musical “Grease”, the TV work aims to present Shape as a unisex brand, not one that targets only weight-conscious women.

The Shape packaging has also been redesigned, through the Design Bridge and Blue Marlin consultancies, so that the lower-fat content is clearly signposted, the Shape logo is given a more “contemporary” feel and the brand has more shelf presence.

Shape will also receive PR support on radio, in women’s magazines and in the national press. The company is planning a “ground-breaking” consumer promotion for later in the new year, but is keeping the details under wraps for the moment.

Shape marketing manager Phil Langford says the very low-fat yogurt market, which Shape dominates, has seen growth slow down in the past year.

He maintains this is through lack of investment and denies the relaunch is a defensive move. “We have been planning this for a long time; it’s not the sort of thing you do overnight.”