The Value Engineers

HOW TO ACHIEVE CATEGORY GROWTH

Steve Reeves — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:56:18 +0000

Category growth is the holy grail! It’s an incredibly difficult thing to do and most categories in FMCG stay the same year in year out. However, we’ve identified 5 ways it can be done using recent examples from the UK grocery sector….

1. RE-POSITIONING THE CATEGORY
The Cider category in UK has grown by 12.7% value in 2009. This has been driven by Magners, who have successfully re-positioned cider from a “tramps’ drink” to an aspirational drink served over ice!

2. INNOVATION
The Wet Baby Foods category in UK has grown by 10.2% value in 2009. Ella Kitchen’s savoury pouches were responsible for driving growth. The success of this brand indicates how important health and convenience are to mums.

3. MACRO TRENDS
The Liquid Soaps category in UK has grown by 11.5% value in 2009. This has been driven by the swine flu outbreak. The Rice category in UK has grown by 17.3% value in 2009. This has been driven by the recession and consumers seeking familiar, cheap and versatile products.

4. HEAVY PROMOTIONS
The Pasta Sauces category in UK has grown by 11.5% value in 2009. This has been driven by heavy in-store promotions between Dolmio, Lloyd Grossman and own labels.

5. COMMODITY PRICE INFLATION
The Tea category in UK has grown by 5.7% value in 2009. This is due to the price of tea being at an all time high.

A moment’s interruption in the 34th week of 2010 from 5 quotes relating to “Brand Perception”

Jossie Clayton — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:21:25 +0000

“Branding is the management of perception” – Anon
“Brand perception is a brand’s reality” – Laura Ries
“A global brand is one which is perceived to reflect the same set of values around the world” – Anon
“What matters is how the buyers see the product. It is expressed relative to the position of the competitors” – Jack Trout & Al Ries
“It’s easy to forget that your perception of a brand is different from your relationship with that brand” – Mary Cox

Borrowed with pride from all over the place.

The Value Engineers on BBC Radio 5 Live commenting on cigarette advertising ban

Anne-Cecile Bertrand — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:37:54 +0000

As you may have heard, the tobacco industry has been accused of using video sharing websites to get around a ban to advertising for cigarettes.

Giles Lury, our Director of Branding, was invited to comment on those latest accusations on Peter Allen and Aasmah Mir’s show on BBC Radio 5 live Programme 5 Live Drive.

To hear what Giles has to say you can listen again here (26/8/2010 from 1:53:26 and lasts around 3 minutes).