Pink Lady Case Study Introduction

Introduction

Pink Lady® is the leading apple brand with 8% share (by value) of UK apple sales and one of the most instantly recognizable fresh produce brands in our supermarkets.

Positioned by Coregeo as a premium product with stringent quality control procedures to ensure a consistent eating experience, has allowed Pink Lady® to command a premium significantly above mainstream apple varieties (Cox, Gala, Granny Smith etc.).

In the last 5 years a number of copycat competitor products have come to market all looking for a share of the branded premium end of the apple market – these include Jazz, Cameo and Kanzi.

Coregeo has responded to their arrival by working hard to ensure the Pink Lady® brand proposition remains differentiated and to promote the product unique story to consumers, the trade audience and other stakeholders.

Background – 1992 - 2006

Pink Lady® was introduced to the UK in 1992. The initial few boxes of this tasty new pink apple were quickly snapped up by a leading retailer and it would be easy to say that the rest is history.

Over the next decade as increased volumes became available to the UK market each year, Pink Lady® gained a devout following amongst UK consumers and also attracted a broader selection of retailers as a result.

Following some spectacular sponsorship and public relations successes with a trans-Atlantic rowing team and an all female team expedition to the North Pole, Pink Lady® apples and the Pink Lady® brand itself achieved high levels of recognition amongst UK consumers.

By 2006 this recognition had translated into significant sales with Pink Lady® apples reaching number 6 in UK apple sales by value (TNS 2006).

2006 – the present

The simplicity of what an apple has to offer can be a blessing (taste, texture, looks). However, when it comes to adding value, Pink Lady® must use the brand and its intangible characteristics to differentiate itself in the minds of its target audiences.

The objectives for Pink Lady® are:

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  To differentiate itself from the competition in the minds of key stakeholders (growers, importers, retailers, trade media and consumers)
  
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  To encourage all its stakeholders to support the brand actively against competitor products and benefit from its improved sales and continued market leadership
  

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  Behave as a brand not as a variety – e.g. Apple varieties (Cox, Braeburn etc.) come from many different countries with different logos, packaging etc. Pink Lady® should be consistent in the way it presents itself and communicates key messages to stakeholders
  
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  To engage in marketing and communications activity that differentiates the brand
  
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  To engage in activity that most competitors do not have the resource to imitate
  

Coregeo’s focus on a clear set of objectives delivered through a differentiation strategy that targets a segmented audience using a variety of carefully chosen marketing channels has paid dividends.

Recent consumer research has shown the effectiveness of Coregeo’s approach. Consumers’ spontaneous recall of Pink Lady® as top of mind has doubled since since 2006. Unprompted awareness of the brand has increased by 50% and prompted awareness by over 25%.

Serving stakeholders

The range of different Pink Lady® stakeholders in different companies and countries means that their demands for and of the brand are extremely varied

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  Retail buyers running an offer want to see what marketing activity is in place to promote the brand at key times.
  

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  Importers and growers want to know what marketing is planned to ensure sufficient fruit will be available.
  
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  The brand owner wants to know what marketing activities are being done and how effective they have been.
  

Recent activity

Faced with the challenge of the most serious economic downturn since it arrived in the UK , the Pink Lady® marketing campaign strategy has been to keep this premium brand at the forefront of consumers’ and trade minds, leading the top fruit market in creative and integrated use of selected marketing channels to maintain market share.

Based on a substantial investment in quantitative and qualitative research two learnings have driven the campaign forward:

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   That loyal Pink Lady® buyers and non-buyers understand that Pink Lady® is a premium product through the eating experience and price point, and they are interested to know more about the product and its origins.
   
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   That the primary target market is 35 – 55 year old women with children and disposable income. The secondary target audience is Golden Oldies 55 – 65+.
   

Why Pink Lady®? Strategy

In order to retain loyal consumers and to attract new converts the marketing plan has been devised to answer this question.

Following the introduction of new brand furniture and guidelines at the start of 2009, five marketing channels are being used and offer a unique combination of creative opportunity, reach, brand engagement and communication of the brand’s key messages

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  Experience marketing – to take the product & story to the people – To taste is to understand
  
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  PR – to tell the story to the media and have them relay it to consumers. In addition social media channels provide an opportunity to engage in the existing consumer dialogue about the brand
  
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  Brand partnerships – to associate the brand with high quality partners so that Pink Lady® can benefit by association.
  
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  Web/Online – to provide a constant presence and information resource.
  
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  Brand advertising
  

Coregeo’s campaign for Pink Lady® apples continues to be a success because, based on its latest full year figures, and with premium brands usually the first casualties, the brand has maintained its 8% market share in the toughest trading conditions and the worst recession since Pink Lady® arrived in the UK.

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  The eye catching Pink Lady® Mini Clubman and the Pink Lady® brand ambassadors ensured that the brand painted the high street pink wherever it went with over 108,000 apples sampled
  
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  50,000 conversations about Pink Lady® greater than 1 minute
  
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  Over 70,000 people engaged with the team
  
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  Where present all local retail Pink Lady® stockists sold out on the days the Mini was in town.
  
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  Web traffic increased 10% in 2010 to almost 34,000 unique visitors who have viewed over 125,000 pages of content
  
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  Retail coupon redemptions were up 50% on previous couponing activity as consumers were encouraged to trial the product.
  
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  To date the Pink Lady® club has over 7,000 members from the first 12 months activity