Vegemite changes name for Australia Day

by Marketing ON 9 January 2012

There’s only one thing more Australian than Vegemite, and that’s Australia. So naturally, in the lead up to Australia Day on 26 January, Kraft Foods is changing the name of its iconic black spread to just that.

Limited edition jars of ‘Australia’ are being released in the lead up to the national day, with a map of Australia in place of the usual red diamond.

The jar features a collectible twist in the form of everyday Australians. The 10 finalists of Vegemite’s ‘Toast of a nation’ campaign, which celebrates remarkable stories of everyday Australians, have their pictures and biographies featured on jars.

The campaign’s People’s Choice winner is the Australian under-19 women’s lacrosse team, comprising young athletes from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, which won silver at the recent World Cup in Germany.

The other nine finalists are: Margaret Hamilton, who in 2008, at the age of 69, donated a kidney to a stranger; Ben Weekes, Australia’s number one ranked men’s wheelchair tennis player; Tex O’Grady, who rides a motorcycle around Australia with his dog Bundy to raise awareness and money for prostate cancer research; Phil Schiff, who has donated blood, plasma and platelets over 560 times; Agnes Mudford, a 93 year old who donates her time and cooking skills to any cause that affects Australians; Caitlin Miers, planner of an all-girl skateboarding fundraiser to support charities affect young women; the Australian women’s whaleboat racing champions, from Warrnambool, who are taking on the USA for the International Cup; Jacob French, who is walking 5000 kilometres from Perth to Sydney to raise money for the Starlight Foundation; and, the Australian Sudoko Team, who achieved their dream of representing Australia at the World Sudoku Championships in India where they placed 20th in the field of 20 countries.

Name Me, iSnack 2.0, Cheesybite

by Marketing ON 29 January 2010

Kraft have launched a rehashed version of the original ‘Name Me’ TVC from the campaign that gave us iSnack 2.0.

Name me has entered a renaming phase using the premise that “It’s Vegemite – but different”. The spot uses the original creative from July 2009, but replaces the Name Me bottle with a Cheesybite bottle.

The original crowdsourced name, iSnack 2.0, caused a considerable public backlash forcing Kraft to backpeddle and launch a poll allowing consumers to choose from six Kraft approved names.

A battle in the aisles!

by Marketing ON 13 October 2009

Many have said that the tightening of belts brought on by the recession will pass once the good times return, but this would depend on the lessons consumers have learnt being unlearnt. It also ignores past experience, when we’ve seen emerging trends in the consumer landscape accelerate and establish themselves during a crisis more often than come and go. In the supermarket, shoppers have learnt that cheaper can be just as good, with private label products reaching a record share (over 20%) of the market in Australia. While there may be some relaxation of the purse strings when things improve, the trend towards private label is a new purchasing mentality that is here to stay.

Research we conducted in July found that, having been given permission to reassess what constitutes value, shoppers are more likely to select the less expensive option – be it branded or private label – unless convinced that a dearer product is tangibly or emotionally better. Even historically resistant categories are under threat. For instance, Huggies nappies were once bullet proof against private label due to the high level of involvement and trust linked to the category, but Aldi has shaken the market up with its cheaper offer gaining advocacy amongst the most viral of groups – mothers. Across all categories, we’re seeing consumers trading down from branded offers, with the popularity of private label products growing amongst adult households, young singles and young couples. And they’re doing so for a variety of reasons – some out of preference for private label and others despite an aversion to it.

The most common reasons pro-private label shoppers buy these products are to save money to spend on the family, the belief that brands are all hype and not of superior quality, and to display thrift by being smart selectors. But surprisingly, many (up to 40%) who buy private label do so despite being concerned over the perceived lower quality of the products and packaging, its inferior status image and lack of innovation. Regardless of their negative opinions, these shoppers are slipping private label products into their trolleys highlighting that purchasing behaviour does not always reflect loyalty. In this case, it is more an indication that branded manufacturers have few true ‘brand believers’. As a result, branded products face a challenge – offer something that private label cannot or face losing market share.

Branded products need to invest in one of two key areas to provide reasons for consumers to buy their products – brand or innovation. With all categories under threat, a brand must be compelling in order to outstrip competitors that are essentially the same. The world’s top brand, Coca-Cola, has reaped the rewards of investing in brand – other colas come close on taste but lag behind on image. Colgate is also a good example, able to hold off competitors in a category where differentiation is difficult by using a strong brand.

Innovation is the area where products resisting the challenge are doing it most effectively, having found a USP to differentiate themselves from competitors. Vegemite is an example of a product that is relatively private label proof due to a unique recipe that is yet to be replicated. Despite this, Vegemite has shown it will not rest on its laurels with the launch of a new product for the first time in decades. We can learn from Apple also, in that if you offer something people want, they will pay for it even in a downturn – they can’t make the new iPhones fast enough!

Armed with an increasingly sophisticated offer, private label is whittling away the strongholds of brands in the supermarket. Elements such as indulgence, where brands have held off private label in the past, are opening up as private label evolves, moving into tiered offerings and improving perceptions of its quality. The new purchasing mentality that has emerged is driven by trends accelerated by the downturn, such as thrift and simplicity, and is undoubtedly here to stay. A battle between private label and brands is brewing in all categories and no one can afford to be complacent.

iSnack 2.0 becomes Cheesybite

by Marketing ON 7 October 2009

Kraft has announced the new name of its cream cheese Vegemite blend will be Vegemite Cheesybite.

The move comes after significant public derision and outcry as well as many third party involvements.

Australians were offered seven name options: Cheesybite, Creamymate, Smooth, Snackmate, Vegemate, Vegemild or none of these. Cheesybite won by a 13% margin with 36% of the vote, above ‘Smooth’ at 23%. According to Kraft, 30,357 people took part in the vote which was conducted online and offline by Quantum Market Research.

The new labels will begin to replace the current iSnack 2.0 jars in the coming months.

iSnack 2.0 joke in poor taste

by Marketing ON 6 October 2009

According to an online poll conducted by BCM, the majority of people surveyed (more than three in four) believe that the recent Vegemite iSnack 2.0 naming and subsequent plan to change it by parent company Kraft, was nothing more than a ploy to maximise exposure for the new product.

The BCM poll, which surveyed over 1,250 respondents, revealed that more than 75% of participants believe that it was a carefully crafted media publicity stunt.

This is despite a statement from Kraft specifically denying this was ever their intention.

“We conducted the survey because many industry insiders were debating whether the name was a cheap grab to gain publicity. We thought it would be interesting to know what the public thought. We now know overwhelmingly that people considered it a stunt,” explained BCM agency partner, Kevin Moreland.

Blogs and forums all over the internet have been buzzing with consumers indicating the name must be a joke, suggesting it was un-Australian and that it failed to connect with Gen Y – the audience it was intended to attract.

“It would seem that people simply couldn’t accept that iSnack 2.0 was ever a serious contender as a name. People assumed therefore that Kraft must have carefully planned the marketing to maximise publicity. More than anything, the study sends a clear message to marketers about the lack of trust consumers have for many brands and how cynically they view the marketing community,” asserted Moreland.

Punters suggest Vegefail

by Marketing ON 28 September 2009

The unveiling of the new Vegemite’s name almost eclipsed the AFL Grand Final over the weekend and polarised Australians.

Kraft launched a campaign calling for Australians to name their new product, which received more than 40,000 entries. The winner, ‘iSnack 2.0’, was chosen, it has been claimed, to align the new product with a younger market and tap into the credentials of Apple’s iPod. The move aligns historically with the brand, as the original spread was named through a public contest held in the 1920s.

Dean Robbins, a West Australian web designer, won the contest, saying:

Its been difficult to contain my excitement; I actually leapt out of my chair when I heard the news. To think that I could go down in Australias history is overwhelming.

The online backlash was overwhelming, with #Vegefail rising to one of the most discussed topics worldwide on Twitter. One popular retweet mocked the name’s incohesiveness with Australian national culture:

“I said do you speak-a my language?/She just smiled and gave me an iSnack 2.0 sandwich”.

Academics have also joined the dissent.

“The name doesn’t actually capture the new product or say anything particularly meaningful about it,” said, RMIT professor of marketing, Con Stavros. “Putting an ‘i’ in front of a word is somewhat unoriginal, while adding ‘2.0’ is possibly confusing.”

“Credit should go to Kraft for generating such a high level of interest in their new product. But considering they apparently had tens of thousands of suggestions for a name for this new type of Vegemite, I’m surprised this is the one idea that came out on top,” continued Stavros.