From the experts: 5 creative cheat codes for food and beverage brands
Following our most recent webinar on 6th March, we reveal five golden marketing nuggets from our expert panellists, all working in the food and beverage category today.?
Marketers are driven by changes in the marketplace and understanding shifting consumer mindset, and this is particularly true in the current cost of living crisis. However, whether you’re a new entrant to the market or an old hand, turbulent times can make for hard marketing decision-making.??
To help navigate the changing waters of today’s flip flop economy, we sat down with industry experts from the food and beverage industry, to discuss all things consumer spending, brand loyalty, and how to grab attention and win the battle in store.?
On our panel, we had:
Catch up on the best bits from the webinar below, or keep reading for our top five takeaways from the discussion.?
Make saving sexy??
We started our discussion by acknowledging the elephant in the room: the great grocery trade-down. All our panellists agreed that the cost of living crisis is having a real impact, with many consumers saving wherever they can. But, while consumers are trading down from premium to value brands or private labels, what they don’t want is to feel they’re settling for second best.?
And there the opportunity lies for affordable brands. Suddenly your product has become hyper-relevant to a new audience. To neutralise those concerns of downgrading, however, demonstrating credibility and building trust within the short decision-window is key. But to truly win customers over, try and foster a sense of fulfilment in choosing your product. Make the consumer feel good about choosing you. That way, you transform a negative trade-down to a positive, problem-solving interaction. And that way lies brand loyalty.
This consumer behaviour of trading down also offers an arena for brands to position at-home opportunities against expensive, out of home occasions. For example, premium brands can promote their products as a more affordable solution to dining out. Define your distinction, and demonstrate the added value your brand brings to prove you’re worth your customer’s money.?
Play devil’s advocate??
Across the board, there’s growing demand for products with health benefits, with a particular focus on natural ingredients. For brands with products that fill this need, there’s an opportunity to show consumers what choosing your product says about them. Sure, the product’s healthy, but delve beyond the functional benefit to the emotional core. What does it really deliver? Take Red Bull, which transforms energy into wings, helping drinkers realise their creativity and ambitions.?
And, on the other hand, opportunities abound for brands with products that are a little naughty. Don’t shy away from that, instead, offer a glimmer of reality - a sliver of joy in all the doom and gloom. After all, a little of what you love does you good.?
Guinness did this during COVID lockdowns. When all the pubs and bars were closed, Guinness continued its marketing investment. The reasoning? It wanted to be the most-craved beer when the pubs finally reopened.*?
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Build creative tension?
The market today is fiercely competitive, and many brands fail to stand out because they’re leading on points of parity. Great Taste Awards, natural provenance and even sustainability metrics are becoming hygiene factors. Everyone’s talking about them. So what is your brand’s distinguishing story??
Take Lurpak? - it’s cleverly positioned itself as THE butter for foodies. Hyper relevance, backed up by consistency.?
So be provocative. Be persuasive. Be polarising. Stand for something, and own the occasion.??
Finding the tension between what you stand for and what you stand against is fundamental in building your story. That’s how Kastner has been helping give Red Bull wings for almost 40 years. BrewDog’s another great example. Love it or hate it, BrewDog is a challenger brand that’s not afraid to be different.?
Keep moving, but with purpose??
Innovation can reinvigorate, but a word to the wise - it’s a double edged sword. Yes, innovation is fun and exciting, but will it distract from your core range? Are you improving taste or texture, price point, or simply feeding the news bubble around your brand??
Innovation that’s true to your brand is the way forward. Take Aperol - what was a tired product was re-energised when the brand created the Aperol Spritz?. That, along with seamless marketing and storytelling, allowed the brand to find new ways to be useful and relevant. It’s innovation, but with purpose.??
Consistency is king?
The food and beverage category is fiercely competitive, so it’s imperative to build your comms on a foundation of consistency. There is a tendency to be drawn to new things, but don’t do this at the risk of contradicting what your brand stands for.
Take Out of Home (OOH) advertising. It may be a traditional channel, but it’s one that’s constantly innovating, which makes it easy to get swept away by one-off OOH stunts. But to achieve cut-through, you must work the campaign as hard as you can. Align creative and media across all your channels to achieve effectiveness.?
Red Bull, KitKat?, Specsavers, Guinness - these are all examples of brands that have been consistent and tapped into distinctive, emotional benefits that have given them longevity.?
The key is to be entirely confident in your brand proposition, and consistently push that message to win hearts and minds.
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The creative agency for brands that are anything but middle-of-the-road, Kastner London makes you famous for what you do best. How we do it is what sets us apart.?
Want to discover how Kastner can help you thrive in turbulent times? Get in touch.?
*For more on marketing during a recession, here’s a link to the Harvard Business Review piece mentioned in the webinar.?