Can Cadbury help reverse declining chocolate bar sales?
Cadbury is putting £6m behind a marketing campaign for its ‘singles’ brands including Crunchie, Twirl and Wispa as it looks to turn around a market in long-term decline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-rNTVzQuPU
The campaign, Obey Your Mouth, initially launches with the first big push for Crunchie in 16 years that aims to bring back the brand’s association with ‘That Friday Feeling’ from the 1990s. It includes a 30-second TV ad, outdoor, in-store and PR activity, as well a tie-up with both Snapchat and Shazam as it looks to introduce the brand to a younger audience aged between 18 and 35.
Speaking to Marketing Week, Nuria Antoja, marketing manager at Cadbury owner Mondelez, said the brand is trying to jump on a new trend for “out of home” snacking.
“Consumers increasingly consume out of home and want to grow in that category. Consumers love our brands when they try them but we haven’t been talking significantly about [the singles bars],” she said.
Antoja admitted that while Cadbury remains the market leader its sales in this category are declining as sales fall across the industry. Figures from Mintel show that the ‘chocolate confectionary’ category saw volume sales fall by 1.8% in 2014 and 0.3% in 2015 and Antoja said while the category “is recovering” it is “not in positive numbers yet”.
She claimed Cadbury holds 35% of the singles market, making it the market leader, and that its sales while falling are declining at a slower rate than the rest of the category.
“[The singles market] is in long-term decline for a number of reasons – fewer corner shops, less out of home consumption. But singles are recovering and we as market leaders want to help boost the market,” she explained.
The campaign aims to talk about the different “taste sensations” associated with each bar whether loud and crunchy or smooth. It includes a “big investment” in Snapchat to attract young consumers, which Antoja claimed “overindex in joyful snacking” but do not think of a Cadbury brand when it comes to picking their treat.
The aim is to drive awareness and brand recall, but Antoja said Cadbury will also be looking at ways to link activity on new platforms such as Snapchat and Shazam with sales.
“This is a new platform and campaign and that is always a journey. We will track and measure the success, we want young consumers to really relate Crunchie with ‘That Friday Feeling’ but will also want to see a gain in penetration and sales. If we are talking to consumers and giving them the right message and exciting them about the brand then they should be more interested in trying Crunchie and our other brands.”