Cheese straightens up its message

Sarah Britton, Convenience Store

11 November 2009

The recession has not been kind to the cheese market within convenience, with value and volume sales down year on year (TNS 52 weeks ending October 4, 2009). But all is not lost. The cheese category is still worth a respectable £285.8m and, rather than relying on gimmicks, brands are providing consumers with practical reasons as to why their products should be purchased.

"A lot of industries are having to turn to straight talking," says Chris Chrisnall, sales and marketing director at Edam supplier Bradbury & Son. "Many firms have really dressed up their brands in the past, such as the Philadelphia Angels campaign, but people aren't buying into that right now they want simple, key messages."

Since the 1990s, Philadelphia has been making consumers chuckle with its humorous Angels campaign, which promotes the cheese spread as 'a little taste of heaven'. But this year the angels fell from grace as they were dropped in favour of a more practical message about the product's stay-fresh packaging.

Modern and relevant

Louise Stigant, commercial director of convenience at Kraft Foods UK, claims that the new advertising is better suited to today's consumers. "Angels was a successful campaign, yet it was time to move on for our consumers," she says. "The reaction has been positive. Consumers have told us that the packaging has made a difference to the way they view the brand. The repackaging was a perfect time to move to a more modern and relevant communication platform showing Philadelphia's versatility in the kitchen."

Dairy Crest's Cathedral City has also by-passed gimmicks, with a packaging relaunch that gives the brand a more earnest image. "We looked at all sorts of different ideas for the rebrand, one of which was a little cartoon mouse," says Cathedral City group brand manager Jackie Wilson. "But what our customers told us is that they viewed Cathedral City as a mature, serious brand and they didn't want any frivolity."

Instead, the brand has adopted a more straight-laced, premium look. "The Cathedral on the packaging is much less cartoon-like than before, and the packaging is a much richer burgundy colour with hints of gold," says Wilson. "We have also taken the decision to move the Red Tractor logo, which symbolises British produce, from the back of pack to the front as this is something that consumers are increasingly aware of and which we are very proud of."

Provenenance

Dairy Crest convenience sales director Simon Bradley agrees that honing in on the brand's provenance is a good move. "Trends come and go, but our heritage is central to Cathedral City and people buy it because they know that the quality and flavour is consistent," he says. "If manufacturers really want to let consumers know what a brand is about, then they need to communicate clearly. For example, ads such as Wyke Farms', which talk about heritage and family values, are very effective."

Wyke Farms is confident that its heritage-focused advertising is working well. "We feel that consumers understand our message," says managing director Richard Clothier. "We have another burst of TV advertising planned for Christmas to further drive home our quality and provenance message." The company's advertising centres around Stan a farm hand who used to help out at Wyke back in the 1940s.

According to design and branding agency Anthem Worldwide, which has worked with a number of cheese brands, the method of making companies more tangible by giving them a human focal point is a big trend among cheese firms. "A number of brands are championing individual farmers as the human face for their products," says account director Mark Walters. "By using the picture and interesting personal information about a farmer and his farm on-pack, it is possible to create a local feel for a brand."

With so many brands presenting a more genuine and practical image, they are all hoping it is only a matter of time before convenience consumers start spending again.