Cassies 2008 Cases. Brand/Case: Never Stop. Milk - Leave Something Behind. Winner: Best Insight Silver

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1 Cassies 2008 Cases Brand/Case: Never Stop. Milk - Leave Something Behind Winner: Best Insight Silver Client Credits: Prairie Milk Marketing Partnership Katherine Loughlin - Alberta Milk Melinda Falkenberg Poetz - Alberta Milk Wendy Kelly - Dairy Farmers of Saskatchewan Lorraine Rankin - Dairy Farmers of Saskatchewan Jason Brandes - Dairy Farmers of Manitoba Agency Credits: Cossette West Richard Hadden - President Johh Hall - General Manager Carol Shmygol - VP Account Director Kim Konnert Account Executive Simon Cameron - Creative Director Scott Schneider - Senior Art Director Josh Tebbutt - Group Director Media Planning Peter Kambo - Media Planner Leslie Stovall - Senior Broadcast Producer Sandy Fleischer - GM Fjord (interactive division of Cossette) Laura Mitchell - Fjord Sean Embury - Creative Director Fjord Crossover Notes: All winning cases contain lessons that cross over from one case to another. David Rutherford has been identifying these as Crossover Notes since Cassies The full set for Cassies 2008 can be downloaded from the Case Library section at Crossover Note 2. Crossover Note 10. Crossover Note 11. Crossover Note 33. Brand Truths. Conventional Wisdom should it be challenged? The Eureka Insight. Changing the Target Audience. To see creative, go to the Case Library Index and click on the additional links beside the case.

2 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Business Results Period (Consecutive Months): September 2007 February 2008 Start of Advertising/Communication Effort: September 17, 2007 Base Period for Comparison: Same period year ago a) Introduction Milk. One of the most nutritionally dense foods or beverages available. Conventional wisdom would suggest that simply by telling people this they will come. In droves. Especially in this day and age of health consciousness. But conventional wisdom is wrong. Crossover Note 10. Leveraging the health benefits has been tried repeatedly and it has failed. Hence, across North America, there has been a decline in milk consumption for more than a decade. Such is not the case in Prairie Canada. In 2003 a strategic and creative platform Never Stop. Milk. was launched to stem the decline. It has been a resounding success. The following case discusses the longer term Never Stop. Milk. campaign, and presents our latest initiative, entitled Leave Something Behind. Crossover Note 14. b) The Essential Challenge (100 words) To encourage Prairie youth to drink more milk and initiate a milk affinity that will continue as they age, resulting in both short and long term volume gains all with a flat budget. c) Summary of Business Results From launch in Sept 2003 to Feb 2008, Prairie milk volume has grown by 47.3 million litres (+14.4%). This compares to +6% for the balance of Canada. During Leave Something Behind (Sept 07 to Feb 08) Prairie volume grew by 2.8 million litres, or +1.7% vs. last year, outpacing national trends. SITUATION ANALYSIS a) Overall Assessment Research uncovered a shift in familial dynamics that impacted long-term milk consumption: Parents were choosing a more collegial approach to parenting, seeking to connect with their kids as friends, rather than as authority figures. For milk this meant the traditional gatekeepers of kids diets were less dictatorial in what they drank and ate. One of the first casualties of this more relaxed approach was milk. Kids are growing up quicker than ever. They are becoming independent at a much earlier age. As a result they have significant influence in the household for all products purchased and consumed, including milk. Milk was no longer a staple at mealtime. Water and juice were acceptable alternatives. Teens and tweens saw milk as old-fashioned and boring. The health properties of milk actually served as milk s nemesis. Crossover Note 2.

3 3 It became apparent very quickly that the target we had to influence was not Moms, but their kids. Crossover Note 33. b) Resulting Business Objectives To achieve a 1% year over year volume gain and significantly surpass Ipsos ASI youth norms on key ad measures like relevance and motivation (norms established by brands with much more spending power and cachet than milk). c) Budget Range/Share of Voice The annual media budget was in the $2 - $3 million range. STRATEGY & INSIGHT a) Analysis and Insight Before Never Stop. Milk. our strategic starting point was to isolate which target represented the best opportunity for volume growth. Existing analysis told us four things: 90% of milk is consumed in the home. Mothers, at that time, seemed to represent the most influential target. Consumption is strong until age 9, after which a noticeable decline occurs as youth mature through adolescence and adulthood. There is a universal understanding that milk helps build strong bones and teeth. Then, from in-home research, we discovered the shift in family dynamics discussed earlier. We realized that we had to address the teen perception of milk as a bland, boring, drink for babies. In analyzing this, we saw some common ground: Milk = growth. It is a true USP that only milk can own. Kids = growth. Growth is synonymous with youth. This insight was the origin of Never Stop. Milk. It is a true depiction of the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual growth that youth experience on a daily basis: The good, the bad and the ugly of growing up. Crossover Note 11. b) Business Strategy Create a marketing partnership between Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. (Rather than each jurisdiction developing unique programs, the combined budget and resource allocation was a highly efficient way to maximize the investment.) Develop consumer-driven communications that will result in consumption growth.

4 4 c) Communication Strategy Reposition milk against teens to take ownership of all aspects of growth. Milk celebrates all those who have the confidence and determination to make the most of themselves. This positioning is best articulated in our signature: Always grow. Grow all ways. Never Stop. Milk. Leverage true insights about the target. In the case of Leave Something Behind, this hinged on the fact that growth isn t only about moving towards something. It is equally about moving away from something. Moving beyond the fears and insecurities that define childhood to a sense of confidence and freedom. Deploy a multi-media approach, critical to reaching and influencing kids with their psychophrenic media consumption habits. Develop a unique online experience for youth one that supports and celebrates their growth ( and allows them to communicate and share. In summary, Never Stop. Milk and the latest Leave Something Behind campaign are tangible demonstrations of speaking directly to youth (the most opportune target) in a language and currency that is insightful, relevant and contemporary. CREATIVE EXECUTION The marketing task was simple: make milk relevant to kids. The execution was considerably more challenging. We decided that in telling the story of milk we must do more than entertain them with buzz executions. We wanted to appeal to their intellect, their new-found sense of independence and aspiration. Key elements of the execution: Leave Something Behind is about the real issues that youth go through, spoken in their currency. It uses an insight about growth. It is about moving forward, away from something, and toward something else ideally something bigger and better. In the campaign we watch as youth move from one stage to another, leaving behind traits, flaws and insecurities that defined their childhood. It is an inspirational approach that celebrates growth. Sometimes moving forward means leaving something behind. That s what it means to grow. Always grow. Grow all ways. Never Stop. Milk.

5 5 We produced a collection of messages for Television and Cinema: Hockey where our hero moves beyond his fears. Mean Girls where our heroine abandons her sense of superiority and re-connects with an old friend regardless of the peer repercussions Party where our heroine overcomes her insecurity and talks to her crush Principal s office where our hero takes a stand and does what s right. These messages were produced as standalone :30s and edited into a :60 montage. Online, youth could contribute to our Leave Behind wall. This was translated into print/outdoor and school dance sponsorship through a highly stylized, graphic treatment. Online Ad Click Thru takes you to the Leave Behind wall at Neverstopmilk.ca Transit Shelter Overall, the campaign is youth speaking to youth. It is not parental or preachy. It entertains and engages rather than using a heavy-handed product sell. There are no smiley happy kids with great teeth and large glasses of milk. The health benefits of milk are not mentioned, nor are they necessary given youth s universal understanding of them. This, combined with the subtlety of the branding, respects youth s intelligence and our results demonstrate that we have been rewarded for this approach. MEDIA EXECUTION

6 6 A strong part of the success of Leave Something Behind can be attributed to the breadth and depth of the media plan. We used a mix of traditional and non-traditional media, complemented by events. Summary: Television and Cinema a combination of :30 and :60. Transit and mall advertising, including station domination at the high-traffic Chinook Station in Calgary. Calgary Chinook C-Train Station Domination Magazine Youthink magazine distributed in high schools. Neverstopmilk.ca and online ads encouraging youth to share what they have left behind encouraging the message to be personalized and internalized.

7 7 What would you leave behind? Leave Behind Wall at Sponsorship of high school dances posters, video walls, giveaways putting a face to our message. BUSINESS RESULTS All objectives have been surpassed: Volume This continues to grow despite the fact that our budget is flat, and is actually in decline given media inflation rates in the Prairies. Since the campaign launched in 2003, Prairie volume has grown by 14.4% versus National excluding Prairies at 6%. This represents an additional 45 million litres in Prairie Canada, equating to an additional $44 million retail dollars (based on the average retail price in 2002). During the Leave Something Behind campaign period (Sept 2007 to Feb 2008) Prairie volume grew by 1.7%, or 2.8 million litres, equating to an additional $3 million retail dollars (based on the average litre price during this period). This outpaced national volume of +1%.

8 8 Source: AC Nielsen, All Channel Volume. Since Launch represents Sept 2003 to Feb 2008 versus base year of Leave Behind is Sept 2007 to Feb 2008 versus same period year ago. Advertising Tracking Leave Something Behind has outperformed Ipsos ASI youth norms on all key measures. These norms are based on all youth products that Ipsos ASI tracks; brands that are much cooler than milk, with significantly more spending power. Of note is the fact that 30% claimed that the advertising had meaning to them personally (versus a norm of 16%) and 30% claimed to have gone to the fridge to get themselves a glass of milk while the commercials were on air. Ipsos ASI Leave Something Behind Tacking December 2007 These results are from a target who originally viewed milk as a bland and boring drink for babies. And who consistently claimed that advertising had no impact on them.

9 9 Participation During the campaign 14,942 unique visitors came to neverstopmilk.ca. Here are examples of what they contributed to the What Would You Leave Behind Wall: My broken heart because I need to move on by rawrrr! My worry, I will leave behind my self doubt by Devonne Jealousy I had my chance and I didn t take it. I have nobody to blame but myself and I must let it go by FrouFrou CAUSE & EFFECT BETWEEN ADVERTISING AND RESULTS The results are a direct result of the Leave Something Behind campaign as evidenced by the following: Prices during the campaign period were at their highest level in the last 6 years, hence price discounting is not a factor. Youth are claiming that the advertising had a direct impact on how they feel about milk, and 30% claim to have gone to the fridge to get themselves a glass of milk while the commercial was on air. The campaign has scored significantly above youth norms on all key measures. These results are not driven by population growth: Pre the 2002 launch consumption indexed at 108 relative to the population. During Leave Something Behind it indexed at Youth are spending time with milk at neverstopmilk.ca. This is not a gaming site or a social networking site. There are no freebies. This site celebrates growth. This is a testament to the power that the approach has with this target. The results are what any brand would be proud of. But this is not any brand. It is a product that has been plagued by years of declines; that had lost its place in the fridge and in the minds of youth; that is competing in a category with an unprecedented array of choice; with brands that have significantly more spending power and marketing resources than milk.