Onken yoghurt brand starts 5m ad review

Yoghurt brand Onken is reviewing its 5m advertising through intermediary the AAR.

Incumbent shop South Brand Builders is not thought to be involved. Six undisclosed agencies have been approached to take part in chemistry meetings.

German-owned Dr Oetker, best known for its flagship Ristoranti pizza brand, bought the yoghurt manufacturer in 2004. The pitch is being overseen by Dr Oetker head of marketing Matthew Wilson. Media, which is handled by OMD group, is not affected by the review.

It is thought the company is looking to revitalise the brand and will increase its UK ad spend. The company is said to believe that the Onken brand is underperforming and wants to maximise sales.

The appointed agency will be tasked with creating a corporate campaign, to be followed by more product-specific work at a later stage.

South Brand Builders created a 1.5m campaign for Onken product BioPot in May this year, but they are not believed to be taking part in the review

Dr Oetker appointed Wilson as its top UK marketer as part of an expansion of its marketing team two years ago (MW December 9, 2004).

He joined from Richmond Ice Cream, where he was category marketing manager for brands for three years, and was responsible for developing innovations such as low-fat Skinny Cow ice cream.

Onken was created in 1940 when Hermann Onken started making yoghurt for his family. Its flagship product Biopot, which contains three bio-cultures, was introduced in 1983.