Horlicks brand to be revamped
SmithKline Beecham is revamping its health drink Horlicks and is understood to be looking at changing the name of the brand to ‘Horlickzzz’.
The revamp is understood to be costing about &£3m and is designed to re-position the brand as a ‘sleep-expert’ product.
There will be a through-the-line campaign to support the revamp, created by the newly launched agency Grey Desire, which is part of the Grey Global Group. The agency will focus on customer relationship management.
Creative director of Grey Desire, Ian Thomas, says: “Studies have shown that Horlicks aids a good night’s sleep. And that is what the focus of the campaign will be. It will aim to hit out at brands such as Ovaltine.”
The campaign, to include press and promotional activity, is due to roll out at the beginning of the first quarter of next year. It is designed to show that Horlicks can improve the quality of sleep.
New pack designs, understood to be labelled with the new name “Horlickzzz”, will also be rolled out to the supermarkets next year.
SB’s manager of consumer healthcare communications, Neil McCrae, says: “We are not looking at revamping the product and the name is not being changed to Horlickzzz.”
The brand’s Internet site – www.horlicks.co.uk – is also likely to be overhauled with a change of name for the site.
Earlier this year in February, SmithKline Beecham launched a &£1.4m national TV campaign, through Grey Advertising, to promote the sleep-related benefits of the brand.
