Heineken is aiming to revitalise John Smith’s with a new look, increased marketing spend and the ale’s first NPD in more than 20 years.
Rolling out this week, the new packaging for John Smith’s Original and Extra Smooth - the first revamp for the brand since 1993 - features more subdued shades of red and green. The magnet icon is smaller, and more emphasis is given to the Tadcaster heritage.
Heineken said it would increase marketing spend for John Smith’s by 40% this year with a campaign entitled ‘Only ordinary by name’. The push will include TV, billboards and store activity, as well as the launch of the brand’s first social media platforms.
Craig Clarkson, Heineken category and trade marketing director, said the first NPD since Extra Smooth was launched in 1993 was also on its way.
Though John Smith’s Extra Smooth remains the number one ale brand, sales last year fell 5.8% to £74.6m [Nielsen 52 w/e 11 October 2014].
However, Heineken said that against four years ago, sales of the beer were up, while key competitor brands had seen sharp declines over the same period [Nielsen 52 w/e 8 November 2014 vs four years ago]. Sales of John Smith’s Original were down a quarter last year to £5.45m.
“We think John Smith’s is the only classic ale brand really growing at the moment and it has a lot of life in it yet,” said Clarkson.
Sales of John Smith’s nevertheless compare unfavourably to Heineken’s lager brands, all of which have soared. Tequila flavoured beer Desperados was the fastest growing of the top 30 lagers, with sales up £12.3m (58.5%) to £33.3m alongside healthy rises for Fosters (+ £11.5m, 2.8%), Kronenbourg (+ £7.7m, 7.2%), Heineken (+ £8.0m, 16.1%), Sol (+ £3.9m, 26.3%), and Moretti (+ £3.9m, 48.7%).
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