John West is the best-known fish canning brand in the Netherlands. The brand guarantees high quality and has built a great deal of trust in recent years, especially in the 40+ target group. As we see with many market leaders, in times of crisis consumers often choose the (perceived) market leader. This was also evident during the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, when there was a spike in purchases; not only among the aforementioned target group, but also among messengers and young couples.
The challenges were clear. First, how do we retain new buyer groups even after the lockdown? And what can we expect from the recent arrival of private label brands? Do they pose a new threat in the market for the John West brand?
STRATEGY
STROOM bet on a long-term strategy linked to the main goal: building John West's brand preference among new target groups. We want to achieve this brand preference by building on the core values of the brand: healthy, convenient and tasty. We will also ensure that John West positions itself at the most important category entry points with consumers: tasty, healthy and familiar. Working closely with content marketing agency Gr8 agency, Candid Research & Insights and, of course, John West, we set to work.
MEDIAPLANNING
The campaign is based on the strategic components of "Touch-Tell-Sell. Each phase serves a different purpose. In the Touch phase, we focus on reaching all buyer groups. Because John West's brand awareness in the Netherlands is already very high, the choice of TV billboarding is suitable for brief and powerful attention to the products. It is crucial here that there is rapid reach building with a high number of contacts so that the deployment realizes enough impact.
In the Tell phase, we highlight the benefits of using John West. Through various online video channels, we will target these benefits by user group. Examples include naming the richness of omega 3 in the older target group and the richness of protein in the sporty, younger target group. In this way we stimulate repeat purchases.
In the Sell phase, we focus on the use of John West products. We do this by showing the delicious recipes and other possible uses.
RESULT
Through pre-testing of the materials, it became clear that the TV billboard was well understood by the target audience. Ultimately, this resulted in a high rating of the TV billboard campaign among the target audience reached in the fall of 2020. In addition, the online strategy also contributed to increasing online visibility and interaction with the brand. The 15-second videos achieved an average view-through rate of over 50% on social! The average CTR is more than 2x above the benchmark. We also see continuous growth in the number of interactions via social with the brand. Thanks in part to the layering of content and media strategy, John West was able to prolong its role as the A-brand in the category.
OVERALL
New buyer groups - young couples and messengers - have continued to buy the brand. Despite the entry of private label brands, John West has been able to maintain its leadership role and expand overall market share to 33% by early 2021. An annual increase of no less than 25% and thus 4%-point market share. A result never achieved before!
Also in 2021, we continue to drive growth in brand and market share for John West with the annual campaign.