Pot Noodle is set to go back to basics with a £1.5m promotion next month targeting its core fans – “young lads who eat McDonald’s and toast,” according to brand owner Unilever.
The company has abandoned its recent health-related marketing message and reverted to a more traditional spin for the country’s biggest-selling potted snack –based on convenience and taste.
“We were never trying to position Pot Noodle as a holier-than-thou product, but the aim was to shake off the ‘slag of all snacks’ image, which we’ve managed to do,” Cheryl Calverley, marketing manager for Pot Noodle, told The Grocer.
The campaign will involve TV, digital and press activity and an on-pack spinning fork giveaway.
Calverley admitted the fork, which saves consumers from having to stir the Pot Noodle, was just a bit of fun and a deliberately “stupid invention” that core consumers would find amusing.
The brand’s quirkiness is also being played on at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in a tongue-in-cheek show, Pot Noodle The Musical.
The show has been funded by Unilever but the company has had no involvement in the content. In fact, the brand isn’t mentioned or eaten at all during the one-hour stage act.
The shift in tactics marks a surprising u-turn after the health-related campaigning of the past two years.
Unilever had spent £20m focusing on allaying consumers’ health fears, with initiatives including a multimedia campaign and product reformulation.
Salt content was reduced by 50% across the range and three new flavours added.
The time and money spent have made little difference to sales. Pot Noodle sales were up just 1.1% to £73m in a market up 4.2% [Nielsen MAT to 14 June 2008].
But Unilever remains upbeat about its iconic brand.
“Sales had previously flattened off, so a year of growth is a good result,” said Calverley. “Pot Noodle is not an easy beast to move.”
The company has abandoned its recent health-related marketing message and reverted to a more traditional spin for the country’s biggest-selling potted snack –based on convenience and taste.
“We were never trying to position Pot Noodle as a holier-than-thou product, but the aim was to shake off the ‘slag of all snacks’ image, which we’ve managed to do,” Cheryl Calverley, marketing manager for Pot Noodle, told The Grocer.
The campaign will involve TV, digital and press activity and an on-pack spinning fork giveaway.
Calverley admitted the fork, which saves consumers from having to stir the Pot Noodle, was just a bit of fun and a deliberately “stupid invention” that core consumers would find amusing.
The brand’s quirkiness is also being played on at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in a tongue-in-cheek show, Pot Noodle The Musical.
The show has been funded by Unilever but the company has had no involvement in the content. In fact, the brand isn’t mentioned or eaten at all during the one-hour stage act.
The shift in tactics marks a surprising u-turn after the health-related campaigning of the past two years.
Unilever had spent £20m focusing on allaying consumers’ health fears, with initiatives including a multimedia campaign and product reformulation.
Salt content was reduced by 50% across the range and three new flavours added.
The time and money spent have made little difference to sales. Pot Noodle sales were up just 1.1% to £73m in a market up 4.2% [Nielsen MAT to 14 June 2008].
But Unilever remains upbeat about its iconic brand.
“Sales had previously flattened off, so a year of growth is a good result,” said Calverley. “Pot Noodle is not an easy beast to move.”
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