Skittles set for £5m January revamp
Mars is to relaunch its Skittles confectionary brand in the UK next year with a range redesign and a new variant as part of a multi-million marketing strategy to give the brand more prominence in the category.
It will see the brand’s rainbow logo flipped upside down on-pack as well as the introduction of Confused a variant where the colour of the sweet does not match the flavour.
A £3m TV push in March will support the refresh alongside in-store promotions, sampling and digital and social media activity to promote the Confused variant.
The campaign marks the brand’s first big push on social media since 2010 when it launched a series of Facebook and Twitter activity that included a man being submerged in the sweets as part of a challenge.
The company claims the £5m brand relaunch is its biggest marketing investment in the UK and hopes to capitalise on a 31 per cent uplift in value sales for the year to 06 October 2012 according to Nielsen.
Matt Austin, confectionery business unit director at Mars’ Wrigley division, says: “Research tells us consumers want more from their sweets – they want to be entertained and that’s exactly what we’re giving them.”
The strategy will be led by Wrigley UK and Ireland marketing director Pamela Bower-Nye, who joined earlier this month with a brief to introduce the company’s brands to a wider audience.
