April 17, 2012

Milk is milk. But Betta Milk is so much more…

Generic is a word that sends shivers up my spine.

It stands for everything in this world that is bland, uninteresting and cheap.

It worries me to think that this word could eventually take over our lives. For one thing, it would put me out of a job.

Generic milk brands (and I use the term “brand” here loosely) are the greatest challenge to our client, Betta Milk, since Kieran Perkins hung up his budgie smugglers.

Why would anyone purchase a brand of milk that costs almost twice as much as generic supermarket milk?

The answer of course, is brand loyalty.

In a marketing environment designed to wipe out smaller producers like Betta Milk, their bold investment in their own brand “story”, along with their faith in the quality of their own product, has kept them in the game.

Just in case you have ever wondered why Betta Milk has persisted with their eight-year-long Frank and Nikki campaign, here is the reason, in the words of Betta Milk’s general manager, Mark Littler:

To all intents and purpose, milk is milk. Accordingly, our challenge as a business was not so much to focus on the product, but the brand. Clemenger Tasmania’s clever, cost effective and innovative way of engaging with consumers has taken our brand to new heights – and the sales have followed.

Frank and Nikki’s public rally in 2010, last year’s Tassie As Tour, and more recently, Tasmania’s biggest ever street party, have enabled Betta Milk to engage with consumers on a one-to-one basis – a status that most major brands would die for.

These quirky, social-based campaigns have boosted milk sales and helped us maintain market share against the might of the major supermarket’s generic products – no mean feat. 

To put this into perspective, I leave you with this question.

If your company invited Tasmanians to travel countless kilometres to a country town to help it celebrate a recent award, how many do you think would actually turn up?

See the Betta Milk Street Party television commercial here.