Case\Note
Muller ‘Lead a Muller Life’
Business\Problem
Müller was an original disruptor; launched into the UK short life dairy products market in 1987, a series of delicious products and innovative product design meant that by 1992 Muller was market leader and by 2004, they had 40% market share and 73% penetration. Now more than 170,000 Müller products are consumed every hour in the UK!
So the challenge wasn’t to recruit new consumers, but to persuade existing consumers to buy more. With a wide range of products, Müller needed a brand idea that sold both health-based yogurts and as well as more indulgent ones, in a market that was becoming increasingly health-obsessed.
Conventions\
Analysis indicated that 90% of yogurt usage was tied to meal times. The trends however indicated that snacking (a £9.2 billion market) was the growth market of the future. Most snack brands were presenting the consumer with a conundrum; taste or health?
But the snacking market was populated with big, popular, high spend players such as Coke, Cadbury and Walkers – brands which first entertained and then fed the consumer. Breaking into snacking would require Müller to disrupt the SLDP category by leading on attitudes and emotions rather than the conventional approach of simply conveying product benefits and attributes.
Disruption\
Müller had the credentials to compete in the snacking market on both taste and health, and increasingly — via the new bottle format – convenience, and so resolve the dilemma faced by other snack brands.
So our disruption became: Müller gives people an appetite for life:
Idea
Celebrate the positive effect of the goodness of yogurt - do you lead a Muller life?
Campaign
We used multiple mainstream touchpoints to showcase brand values and attitudes, including sponsorship of Heart FM breakfast show and Will and Grace. The idea was taken through the line via bespoke lorries, trays and packs. The Vitality show was created at Earl’s Court to further demonstrate the brand’s commitment to pleasurable goodness.
Effect\
SLDP value share increase from 23.9% to 25.2% in one year. This growth out-paces a dynamic market. Equivalent to £20.6 million pounds of incremental sales.
Müller’s contribution to the category’s growth was higher than any other brand (41%), proving that the campaign’s impact was considerably more than simple share steal.
Müller has consistently exceeded every quantitative tracking norm for a range of product attribute and brand image statements including ‘healthy’, ‘good for you’ and ‘helps you lead a fuller life’.
Perceptions of Müller products as snacks have also shifted – 60% of consumers now believe Müller’s products are more than just desserts.
Consumer reaction to the new campaign resulted in hundreds of e-mails, sent directly to Müller, praising the advertising and leading to the re-release of the Nina Simone single featured
Convention\
Compete for a share of the fridge
Vision\
Enable Britain to feel good about snacking
Disruption\
Muller gives people an apetite for life