All but two of confectionery’s biggest advertisers have increased spend on traditional ad space in the past year, resulting in a 12.5% hike in investment to £65.2m (see below). Only Dairy Milk and Mars have cut spend [Ebiquity 52 w/e 31 March].
The article is part of our Confectionery Report 2014.
The biggest spending brand is Galaxy, which has ramped up investment by 50.1% to £11.1m, the majority of that going on TV ads. One depicts a CGI Audrey Hepburn tucking into a slab of Galaxy as she’s driven along Italy’s Amalfi coast; another a pair of women sharing a bag of Minstrels while being entertained by a troop of male strippers.
Confectionery’s 10 biggest ad spenders
| SPEND | SHARE OF SPEND | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £m | y-o-y% | Cinema | Outdoor | Press | Radio | TV | |
| Galaxy | 11.1 | 50.1 | 0.00% | 4.60% | 3.90% | 0.00% | 91.50% |
| Kinder | 8.3 | 14.1 | 0.00% | 3.00% | 5.30% | 0.00% | 91.70% |
| Maltesers | 8.1 | 21.6 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.90% | 0.00% | 99.10% |
| Wrigley’s Extra | 6.9 | 19 | 0.00% | 12.70% | 0.60% | 0.00% | 86.70% |
| Snickers | 6.8 | 17.6 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 9.30% | 0.00% | 90.70% |
| Twix | 5.6 | 14.9 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 16.80% | 4.00% | 79.20% |
| Haribo | 5.1 | 0.6 | 33.10% | 0.00% | 0.50% | 9.40% | 57.00% |
| Mars | 4.6 | -31.1 | 0.00% | 10.00% | 17.60% | 0.00% | 72.40% |
| Dairy Milk | 4.4 | -9.6 | 11.60% | 24.80% | 0.80% | 0.00% | 62.90% |
| Lindt Lindor | 4.3 | 21.3 | 0.00% | 1.20% | 7.40% | 0.00% | 91.50% |
| TOTAL (Top 10) | 65.2 | 12.5 | 3.40% | 5.00% | 5.70% | 1.10% | 84.80% |
The ads, in support of a brand re-launch last autumn, have particularly benefitted the slab format, says Galaxy brand owner Mars Confectionery. “Following the renewed focus on Galaxy, our core milk block range is back in growth currently up 1% in value,” says retail excellence director Tony Lornman, quoting Niesen figures for the year to 14 June.
But they haven’t been enough to rescue the overall brand, which has suffered a 6% slump in value sales as volumes fell 3.3% [IRI 52 w/e 21 June]. Mars stablemate Maltesers fared better, up 10.2% on volumes up 14.4%, thanks in part to a big primetime TV push around Britain’s Got Talent.
The dip in spend on Dairy Milk, which nevertheless continued to advertise on TV throughout the year after ditching the Joyville campaign in favour of the Unwrap Joy message, came as Mondelez kicked off its first major push for Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations (measured as a separate brand by Ebiquity) with a £2.7m outlay on ad space.
Sweets: top five ad spenders
| SPEND | SHARE OF SPEND | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £m | y-o-y% | Cinema | Outdoor | Press | Radio | TV | |
| Haribo | 5.1 | 0.6 | 33.10% | 0.00% | 0.50% | 9.40% | 57.00% |
| Skittles | 4.3 | 127.9 | 20.60% | 2.00% | 0.10% | 0.00% | 77.30% |
| Werther’s Original | 3.7 | -1.5 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 3.20% | 0.00% | 96.80% |
| Rowntree’s | 1.7 | -23.4 | 14.40% | 0.00% | 0.70% | 0.00% | 84.80% |
| Starburst | 1.4 | -2.4 | 0.00% | 8.00% | 0.50% | 0.00% | 91.40% |
Haribo reigns supreme in terms of ad spend in sweets. Spend has stayed more or less flat over the past year at £5.1m. The brand has become the biggest investor in cinema ads, with a third of its budget going on the big screen. And, unlike many of its rivals, Haribo aims to have its ads running year-long, says MD Herwig Vennekens.
“We started the year with a brand new creative for Starmix, focusing on the child-like enthusiasm people of all ages have for Haribo, brought to life in a fun boardroom style setting. More recently Haribo unveiled a brand new TV advert for Tangfastics, which looks to reinforce the unique ‘tang’ offered by this product.”
Meanwhile, Wrigley has more than doubled investment on Skittles, with much of its TV activity going in support of the January launch of the Wild Berries variant. And while the company’s spend on space for Starburst may have dipped 2.4% to £1.4m, Wrigley has splashed out on a new ambassador for the brand.
“Starburst kicked 2014 off with a brand new TV ad starring American singer Michael Bolton, plus a pack refresh across its entire range,” says a spokesman. “The new 20-second TV ad, which aired on 27 January, ran for 16 weeks and featured Michael Bolton serenading trees in Starburst’s very own orchard… obviously!”
Ads for Wrigley gum took a less leftfield, more A-list tack, with TV ads featuring Antonio Banderas running throughout the year, driving a 19% hike in spend to £6.9m. Wrigley stablemate Airwaves also saw a spike in spend, with its entire £2.5m budget going on TV ads.
Mints & gum: top five ad spenders
| SPEND | SHARE OF SPEND | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £m | y-o-y% | Cinema | Outdoor | Press | Radio | TV | |
| Wrigley’s Extra | 6.9 | 19 | 0.00% | 12.70% | 0.60% | 0.00% | 86.70% |
| Airwaves | 2.5 | 30.1 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% |
| Tic Tac | 1.2 | - | 0.00% | 40.30% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 59.70% |
| Wrigley’s 5 | 0.9 | - | 0.00% | 0.00% | 28.20% | 4.90% | 66.90% |
| Smint | 0.7 | 23147.2 | 30.30% | 69.10% | 0.60% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Galaxy
Indulgence and sophistication continue to be the main message of the core Galaxy brand, while the Minstrels sub brand has been promoting the notion of ‘sophisticated sharing’. Like other confectioners across the sector, the brand targets women, attempting to use humour with an arguably more sophisticated wit than its competitors. The ad creates an avenue for sharing through social media with a clear Facebook invitation as a sign-off.
Kinder
TV continues to dominate the media mix for Kinder. The brand proposition attempted to strike a balance between appealing to both mums and their kids, using the strapline ‘invented for kids, approved by mums’. Kinder appears to be trying to create a usage occasion by suggesting the product as a treat after school. The visual cues in the creative execution supported this with innocent and wholesome art direction.
Maltesers
The brand took its slogan, ‘the lighter way to enjoy chocolate’, a step further for the central message in this playful TV creative aired on the primetime Saturday evening slot around Britain’s Got Talent, establishing Maltesers as the “the lighter way to enjoy Saturdays”. The ads included an opportunity to win tickets to the show. Across the year, the brand continued to produce female-targeted communications with the launch of the ‘Teasers’ bar on TV.
Back to Confectionery Report 2014.
NEXT: Merchandising matters: 50% of chocolate purchase choices are made at the fixture
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