Birds Eye seeks greater ‘unity’ from marketing
Birds Eye has admitted its marketing has not been as effective as it would have liked and is stepping up efforts to create a more consistent brand experience across all channels.
The frozen food company is bringing its in-store, outdoor and digital advertising more in-line with TV campaigns to better communicate the sustainability and provenance of its products in the wake of the horse meat scandal. Birds Eye has developed integrated campaigns previously, however its latest move will more closely align the planning and execution phases.
To support the strategy, the company is rolling out its biggest sampling push this month – a nationwide tour to promote several products including its Bake to Perfection range alongside TV spots for its revamped Fish Fingers products.
A new social media plan, developed in partnership with Mischief PR, will focus on recruiting influencers and communicating stories around its manufacturing process in a way the company promises will be “relevant” to consumers.
Birds Eye marketing director Margaret Jobling told Marketing Week the approach aims to create a “unified” brand experience.
She adds: “Last year we spent a lot of time understanding eating occasions and identifying what areas the brand is strong in so that we would have a platform to build from this year. We know social media is going to be a key category in the future and have been using a test and learn approach so far to look at how we get the right level of engagement from it.
“Our plan this year is to have a more seamless flow across all our channels. Moving forward we’ll build sustainability and provenance much more into our messaging to constantly reassure consumers about the quality of our supply chain and the high standards we set for all our products.”
Jobling adds the company is doing more to understand shoppers’ online behaviour and is developing its mobile offering. It has marked mobile as an area where “there is a gap” for the business to exploit mobile coupons and price comparison sites.
The burst of activity comes ahead of a NPD drive later this year with the business targeting adults as part of ongoing efforts to change the perceptions of frozen food.