Kettle Chips: Case Study

Editor's Notes

• #4: Newspapers immediately boost sales by over 20%While the newspaper campaign was running, sales of featured products were 20.5% higher among people who saw the ads, compared with a matched unexposed sample.…and sustain sales impactIn the 12 weeks post campaign, newspaper advertising continued to cause a 19.5% increase.Newspapers engage all types of buyersThe KETTLE® Chips advertising successfully increased penetration and frequency of purchase as well as re-engaging lapsed users.Newspapers are brilliant for making big bold brand statementsKETTLE® Chips’ simple but confident campaign captured readers’ attention and increased their emotional brand involvement.Newspaper campaigns create much more powerful emotional links than one-off ads Whilst just one newspaper ad established strong emotional identification with the KETTLE® Chips brand, this was increased by 22% when people saw all three ads in the campaign.
• #6: Introduction and test objectiveKETTLE® Chips created the hand-cooked category and have been the number one brand since 1982. People recognise KETTLE® Chips as the original “posh” crisp. But competition has intensified in recent times, with increased pressure from both sharing ranges (large bags) from mass-market crisp brands and more sophisticated ranges from retailer own brands. KETTLE® Chips wanted to stress their quality credentials and authenticity in order to increase purchase by existing buyers and tempt back recently lapsed buyers. Communications strategyKETTLE® Chips’ solution was to remind people of the KETTLE® Chips values - simple, natural, unprocessed - whilst increasing awareness of different flavours.Newspaper advertising showcased the fresh, quality ingredients in the KETTLE® Chips range and conveyed the hand-cooked, artisan nature of the chips. Target AudienceAdults 35-65, ABC1. They buy snacks regularly, particularly for sharing and entertaining, but prefer more natural, authentic food to highly processed food with additives.
• #7: Media strategyNational newspapers provided the ideal environment for a big bold (re-)statement of KETTLE® Chips core values. Newspapers convey a sense of importance and authority – as well as being recognised as a medium for announcements. Quality and mid-market titles were selected to provide a large audience of upmarket adults interested in food – these readers also more likely to purchase premium crisps compared with audiences for other media.
• #8: Research method and sample: dunnhumbydunnhumby created two matched samples totalling 93,962 premium crisp buyers from the Tesco Clubcard database.The Newspaper group had bought newspapers from Tesco that contained the KETTLE® Chips ads, and were therefore exposed to the campaign.The Control group was identical, except they had not bought the relevant newspapers in Tesco. They had the same buying patterns in Tesco overall, in the category and for the brand; and the same lifestyle and lifestage profiles as the Newspaper group. By comparing actual buying behaviour of the Newspaper group and the Control group during and post-campaign, dunnhumby identified the effect of the newspaper campaign on buying behaviour.**Estimates are conservative, as some shoppers in the Control group will have been exposed to the campaign in newspapers bought outside Tesco.
• #9: Research method and sample: Millward BrownPre and post campaign tracking with the same respondents. The sample was 659 main shoppers, who buy premium crisps nowadays, with 50% buying KETTLE® Chips.Brand questions were asked about 10 premium crisp brands, and for brands in a non-related category, to disguise specific interest in KETTLE® Chips. At the post-campaign stage, brand questions were asked again for all 10 crisp brands. Then respondents were asked about the KETTLE® Chips campaign (so that advertising questions could not affect the brand scores). Analysis compared results for those who recognised the KETTLE® Chips advertising with results for non-recognisers, and the total sample. Results are reported as % point shifts pre-post advertising.
• #12: The newspaper campaign increased sales of the advertised KETTLE® Chips products by an impressive 20.5% during the six weeks it was running.This excluded any uplifts due to promotions and people stocking up for Christmas. Newspapers continued to influence sales during the 12 weeks post-campaign. Sales were 19.4% higher for the Newspaper group compared with the Control group (who didn’t buy newspapers carrying the ads in Tesco).
• #13: There was a halo effect for newspaper advertising across the entire KETTLE® brand. People exposed to newspaper ads increased their spend by a further 5% on the overall KETTLE® brand.The biggest rises were for 150g packs of other KETTLE® Chips flavour variants and KETTLE® Ridge crisps.
• #14: Brands need to attract new and light users in order to increase sales and share, according to Byron Sharp and the researchers of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute:“Changes in sales come from buying propensities changing across the entire market – from heavy to light and non-buyers of the brand... Marketing is particularly successful when it reaches light and non-buyers of a brand”Byron Sharp, How Brands Grow, Oxford University Press 2010The KETTLE® Chips newspaper campaign achieved sales effects across all the key buyer targets.It brought in new users – 4% of customers had not purchased KETTLE® Chips in the previous year.It brought back lapsed users – people who had bought KETTLE® Chips in the previous year, but not for at least 6 months. Their spend increased by 2.5%.It increased buying among existing buyers – the most loyal, heavy buyers increased spend on the overall KETTLE® brand by an additional 16%.The KETTLE® Chips campaign also demonstrated that it is possible to attract new users and, at the same time, increase frequency of buying. All buyer groups saw significant increases in purchase frequency of KETTLE® Chips, compared with the Control group.
• #15: Advertising in newspapers helped insulate KETTLE® Chips against category decline and share loss. Category decline was offset by sales increases stimulated by newspapers.Most direct competitors to KETTLE® Chips lost market share during the period analysed (3rd October 2011 to 5th February 2012).However KETTLE® Chips market share increased, rising by 5% among people who bought newspapers containing the ads.
• #16: Millward Brown tracking showed that the KETTLE® Chips newspaper campaign improved a range of KETTLE® Chips brand values. This finding is consistent with effectiveness case studies across a range of brands, such as Ford and ghd – newspapers impact on more measures than other media tested. In this section we look at some of the key effects.
• #17: Spontaneous awareness of KETTLE® Chips increased by 9% points across the total sample. Among people who recognised the campaign, there was a significant shift of 12% points.
• #18: People have a strong affinity with the KETTLE® brand. They feel that they are the original and best-tasting sophisticated crisp with high quality and natural associations*. This emotional closeness was strengthened even further by the newspaper advertising, which highlighted the artisan like nature of the product.*KETTLE® Chips qualitative advertising research, 2011
• #19: Millward Brown tracking reflected the excellent sales performance of KETTLE® Chips, due to the newspaper campaign.People who saw the ads reported an increase in regularly buying KETTLE® Chips. They also increased their likelihood to consider KETTLE® Chips when next buying premium crisps.
• #20: The KETTLE® Chips campaign scored well with quality and mid-market readers for being involving, distinctive and interesting.It was particularly rewarding as it worked on two levels. The immediate impression was confident and clear – KETTLE® use quality, natural ingredients in their delicioushand cooked chips. Readers were further delighted when they noticed that the illustrations for the original “hand-cooked” chip were made up of lots of individual handprints.
• #21: Readers were further delighted when they noticed that the illustrations for the original“hand-cooked” chip were made up of lots of individual handprints.
• #23: Great newspaper advertising captures attention effortlessly – it doesn’t need to be “loud” or tricksy, it simply needs to command interest and make readers stop for a while.The KETTLE® campaign was simple, bold and elegant, with great stand-out from the page, and strong branding.
• #24: The most effective newspaper advertising makes a strong emotional connection with the reader. Newsworks studies have consistently shown that this emotional closeness is intensified for campaigns, compared with one-off ads.Emotional identification with the KETTLE® Chips brand was strong when people saw one or two ads, but increased by 22% when people saw all three ads in the campaign.
• #25: The advertising was highly motivating, which ties in with increases in claimed buying, consideration, and ultimately the 20% sales increase caused by the newspaper campaign.Once again, call to action was boosted when people had seen the full campaign.