FMCG – other

Pantene Pro-V

Since its launch in 1993, Pantene has seen continual growth year on year. In 1996, it became the clear market leader.

Pantene is positioned in the fastest growing sector of the haircare market – the “healthy hair” sector – and through strong, consistent advertising the brand has become synonymous with healthy, shiny hair.

Success in 1996 has been achieved behind two big marketing ideas, each delivering a single message. The “Feel the Health” campaign, based upon a product upgrade, included door-drop sampling, a 30-second TV ad, in-store theatre such as the Hair Health Centres, an on-pack money-back offer and magazine/radio PR. This activity was followed up with the “14-day transformation”, which claimed gradual improvement in the hair’s look and feel rather than overnight transformation.

Fact box

Sales in 1996 showed a 41 per cent increase over the previous year. Following the first campaign in February/March, Pantene’s market share rose to 16 per cent of both the shampoo and conditioner markets. The latter campaign maintained the earlier gains on shampoo, while conditioner rose to an unprecedented 21 per cent share of the market.

Heinz

In 1996, Heinz faced perhaps the strongest challenges to any grocery brand from the own-label sector. As the hard discount retail sector stole share, so the major multiples switched from the traditional platforms of choice, value, quality and service and instead focused on price. The product category that grabbed the headlines was baked beans.

Prices tumbled and volumes within the category rocketed. Heinz market share by volume fell to 34 per cent but, nevertheless, the brand maintained the argument that its superior recipe provided a value-for-money product which consumers preferred. Heinz continued to sell about 1.2 million cans every day and in value terms, market share barely flickered.

Heinz stood its ground using an effective combination of above-the-line ads, direct marketing and PR. Brand advertising reinforced consumer beliefs about the brand such as “good quality for what it costs”. Direct marketing was used to target loyal customers and waverers with appropriate offers, and proactive PR turned around perceptions that Heinz was at risk.

Fact box

At the end of the beans war, Heinz’s value share of the market was still 53 per cent. Far from joining the price war, Heinz relied on the strength and heritage of a brand that has become one of the most pervasive of British groceries.

Cadbury

From a consumer perspective, Cadbury is one of the most potent brands in the UK. In 1996, Cadbury launched a series of co-ordinated initiatives designed to build on this platform and focus on Cadbury as the consumer’s first choice for chocolate.

The “Cadbury Tastes Like Heaven” TV campaign reinforced powerful icons such as the Cadbury script, glass and a half, the colour purple and the image of swirling chocolate. This masterbrand proposition led a portfolio of individual brand communication.

The Coronation Street sponsorship involves sign-off and bumper breaks and continuity links featuring the Cadbury iconography and the tagline “the Nation’s Favourites”. Point-of-purchase associations were undertaken with the British Olympic Team, Tina Turner and the Yamaha British Superbike Team. Finally, the 1996 launch of Fuse was timed to coincide with the focus on the Cadbury masterbrand strategy.

Fact box

Cadbury is the UK’s leading chocolate confectionery manufacturer in terms of market share by value, which stands at 28.7 per cent (Nielsen). Its turnover is in excess of 700m.

Walkers Crisps

Walkers continues to build on the momentum established behind the brand and has set itself the goal of becoming part of the “fabric of the nation”.

Consumer regard, measured by Millward Brown in terms of taste and popularity, is still rising, while trade recognition has also been forthcoming. Walkers focuses on the fundamentals of brand building – adding value as opposed to price discounting – and has expanded the market to the mutual benefit of trade and brand.

Uptrading via larger, single-serve grab bags has returned the impulse channel to growth and the launch of family packs has doubled the size of the large-pack sector in supermarkets.

A brand new flavour, BBQ, was launched in the summer, while the “Salt’n’Lineker” gimmick boosted sales of the flavour by 60 per cent in the first half of the year. >

Fact box

The net results of this activity have seen the Walkers brand move up the Nielsen Checkout ranking from three to two. Walkers has also outperformed the market in both value (+21 per cent) and volume (+17per cent) sales and this has led to an increase of just over two percentage points in market share.

Tango

In a market dominated by US colas, Tango is British, fruity and proud of it! 1996 was the year of the “Tango Re-Engineering”, the aim of which was to confirm Tango’s transformation from a one-flavour to a four-flavour brand. Each flavour has been given a unique taste “proposition” to avoid the traditional problem of new variants simply cannibalising the original.

Pack structures and decorations have been radically overhauled and above-the-line campaigns for Lemon and Blackcurrant Tango were launched. Apple Tango was supported with a combination of above-the-line ads and on-pack promotion, plus the “Tongue Tour” – a nationwide sampling and entertainment experience. Tailor-made merchandise was also developed – combat jackets for Orange Tango and Friendship Bracelets for Lemon were just two examples. Tango’s memorable advertising continues to bring in free publicity on top of the actual TV budget.

Fact box

In 1996, Tango achieved its highest brand share to date (7.6 per cent), while sustaining a price premium to the market leader. Sales are the equivalent of 1.6 million cans per day and the launch of Lemon Tango increased volume by 83 per cent in 1996.

Audi

“Modern, innovative and individual”. This combination of values provides a clear positioning and guides brand activity across the mix from advertising to product specification, from sponsorship to retail development.

Audi strengthened its range in 1996, introducing new models, such as the A4 Avant and the A3. New derivatives like the A8, the Audi cabriolet and the A6 increased choice and added to brand profitability. A restructured dealer network improved customer service and distribution.

1996 saw the most wide-ranging deployment of integrated marketing in Audi’s history. Eighty per cent of the TV budget focused on just two models as a brand-building exercise, whereas direct response press was used across the range to generate enquiries. Product placement, special event invitations and sponsorship also played a key role. The three main elements of sponsorship included the British Touring Car Championship, the BBC Design Awards and the Audi Junior Musician.

Fact box

Against a sector sales increase of four per cent, Audi’s 1996 sales rose by 19.5 per cent. The business sales unit achieved a 53 per cent sales boost on 1995.