Nutella launches first global campaign to exploit ‘great love’ for the brand
Nutella is inviting fans to share their memories of its spread over the last few years with the launch of its first global marketing campaign to celebrate its half-century anniversary.
The “50 Years Full of Stories” campaign asks the chocolate spread’s 26m social media fans to share their Nutella stories by text, photos or video for the chance to win exclusive prizes. Fans who submit stories receive a personalised labels for Nutella jard as well entered into prize draw to attend birthday parties hosted in different cities. Additionally, limited edition jars will be available until July.
The campaign represents a change in the way Nutella owner Ferrero manages the marketing for its brand. It has previously focused on more educational, regional messages around how suitable it is for breakfast when marketing to consumers. Future global efforts, however, will eschew this tactic in favour of one that showcases “how loved the brand is around the world”. The strategy will likely continue to use crowdsourcing, while TV and radio will remain targeted to each region.
Emma Colquhoun, Ferrero UK’s marketing director for the UK and Ireland, says, the move aims to encourage its advocates to help grow the brand now that they are “fully-aware” of its credentials as a breakfast spread. The success was reflected in the brand becoming bigger than Marmite in the year to April 2014 in terms of sales, she claims.
The advocacy push comes a year on from the criticisms the brand faced following its cease and desist notice to the owner of the unofficial “World Nutella Day” website. Nutella pulled the court order, concluding a period Colquhoun says generated valuable insight on working closer to fans.
Colquhoun adds: “We’re leading our marketing through social media now whereas in the past It would have been TV. Since we changed our positioning from a treat to a breakfast alternative in 2007 we’ve seen strong global growth despite the absence of one, unified theme.
“[Global marketing] is something the Ferrero organisation is looking into and the Nutella brand seemed like the best place to start because the breakfast theme was present in various markets.”