As the nights get longer and Halloween season fast approaches, Nestlé UK is launching ‘Scaries,’ a spooky edition of Smarties, which will be hitting the shelves this week. This Halloween themed treat consists of a mix of autumn coloured brown and orange Smarties. The limited edition packs see the brand logo updated to ‘Scaries’ alongside a Halloween themed design.

Stephanie Scales, Brand Manager for Smarties, Nestlé UK, said: “With Halloween sitting firmly at the top of the social calendar we are really excited to launch Scaries to get Smarties lovers in the spooky spirit and help add some hocus pocus to their parties! This is the first time we are offering Halloween themed Smarties and we are sure our fans will love this new ghostly version of their favourite sweets.”

Scaries will be available from 6^th September in Asda stores across the country and in selected Tesco stores from 3^rd October.

The introduction of these limited edition Smarties follows the incredibly popular Unicorn Smarties and orange flavoured Smarties in a variety of special formats beginning with giant tubes last Christmas and now available in sharing bags.

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Shoppers are highly likely to boycott brands which run “promotions that aren’t as good as they sound” according to new research into how much UK consumers trust retailers and brands.

Nearly six in 10 shoppers (59%) cited disappointing promotions as a key irritant in future purchasing decisions, putting it top of the factors which put shoppers off retailers and brands.

The latest industry report from Shoppercentric, a leading independent shopper research agency, “WindowON…Trust Issues”, reveals high levels of cynicism and falling levels of trust amongst the UK population.

This could have dire consequences for brands and retailers, because shoppers are increasingly voting with their wallets:

• 36% of UK shoppers have ‘stopped buying a brand or using a company’ because they were uncomfortable with something they did or stood for.
• Having taken a stand in relation to one brand or company, 58% of these ‘boycotters’ said they were more likely to do the same again in the future.
• 41% of boycotters were 55+ compared to 34% of non-boycotters.
• 55% of shoppers always or frequently look for products that are transparent about their contents e.g. see thru packs/clear labelling information.
• 32% always or frequently look for products that demonstrate their ethical policies.

Danielle Pinnington, Managing Director at Shoppercentric (pictured), says: “Over the last few years, with the rise of social media and 24/7 news, it has become clear that consumers are increasingly aware of shortfalls in the behaviour of the companies they buy from… If consumers are as cynical as our research indicates, it highlights the need for brands and retailers to be more aware of how trust issues can develop and what they need to do to avoid this. There’s the potential for serious impact on businesses when trust issues lead to a negative change in behaviour, something retailers can ill-afford to happen.”

Nearly half of all UK shoppers – 46% – now fall into the cynical bracket, failing to agree at all with the statement that they are ‘trustful of others’. These shoppers are also less likely to agree that ‘most people are trustful of others’, ‘most people are trustworthy’ and ‘most people are basically honest’.

Trust is a major issue, as nearly three quarters (74%) of UK shoppers agreed that they ‘want to feel good about the retailers they use’ while almost the same percentage (73%) ‘want the money they spend to go to companies they trust’.

Shoppers rate corporate retailers and brands poorly in relation to putting consumer interests first, in comparison to other institutions and businesses.

Shoppercentric also asked people what factors irritated them most, drawing up a list of key irritants (those that scored 8+ out of 10, where 10 is annoying enough to not buy that product or use that retailer).

As mentioned above, ‘Promotions that aren’t as good as they sound, was ranked number one irritant by the most respondents, followed by so-called ‘shrinkflation’, where reduce their size or quality but keep the same price with 58%. In third place are retailers and brands who make changes which negatively impact shoppers but lets them profit on 55%.

Pinnington concludes: “The individual irritations may seem relatively harmless in isolation, but these can create real frustration and annoyance among shoppers. To see a considerable proportion of shoppers giving such high annoyance points for so many factors should be a red flag to retailers and brands. When all else feels equal, such as price, range and accessibility, it can be the sense of connection, or not, that can lead a shopper to remain loyal to their usual brand/retailer, or choose to go elsewhere.

She adds: “Our research implies that 1 in 3 UK shoppers have taken action – to shop elsewhere or stop buying a particular product so this willingness to act is not limited to a small minority. This is the context in which trust issues need to be viewed and unless retailers and brands understand the potential impact that trust issues – big or small – can have on shoppers, they run the risk of falling foul of shoppers who are increasingly aware, thoughtful and willing to act.”

The Shoppercentric report can be found here.

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Volvic, the Danone-owned mineral water brand, is kicking off its biggest-ever UK marketing campaign this summer across its flavoured waters range, Volvic Touch of Fruit and Volvic Juiced.  The ‘Let It Out’ initiative reaches out to consumers through multiple channels to raise awareness and ultimately drive penetration, and will include a massive sampling operation across three key UK cities and a partnership with The Sun newspaper to distribute yet more free samples.

Adrienne Toner, Senior Brand Manager at Volvic, says: “Health is one of the big trends at the moment. We know consumers are actively moving away from sugary carbonated drinks into soft drinks that they view as healthier. However, we also know not everyone enjoys the taste of plain water. That’s where our Volvic flavoured waters range comes in, as it perfectly fills this gap.”

Backed by an investment of over £3million, ‘Let It Out’ is a product-led campaign told in a way that emotionally connects with the millennial target audience. Volvic believes that life is better when we approach it with positivity and that it takes inner strength to choose to approach everyday moments of frustration with optimism and a sense of humour.

Based on this, Volvic says the ‘Let It Out’ campaign is set to inspire consumers to ‘let out’ their optimism and positivity while enticing them to ‘let out’ the flavour inside bottles of Touch of Fruit and Juiced.

The campaign will run from July 17 2017 until the end of August and will include:

• A complete packaging-refresh across Volvic Touch of Fruit and Volvic Juiced, emphasising taste and naturalness.
• The brand’s biggest Out Of Home advertising campaign yet, with displays never more than 10 metres away from point of purchase.
• Three new TV sponsorship idents showing how people ‘let out’ their inner optimism and see the positive in everyday moments of frustration. These will be on air every day throughout the summer as part of Volvic’s on-going E4 sponsorship, shown alongside hit TV shows such as How I Met Your Mother and The Inbetweeners as well as the new series launch of 2 Broke Girls.
• A huge social media presence across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to engage with Volvic’s millennial target audience.
• YouTube bumper ads targeting viewers with tailored content related to what they are watching.
• A partnership with News UK, including a front page ad in The Sun for a free sample on July 21.
• Large-scale depot and in-store takeovers in key retailers.
• A nationwide experiential sampling campaign, which will visit three cities across the UK this summer.

Adrienne Toner concludes: “Our 360 campaign is about recruiting new consumers into the category through Volvic’s flavoured portfolio.”

Last year, Volvic Juiced launched its biggest ever brand campaign and innovation launch, using the hashtag #smallvictories. This included media partnerships, OOH, experiential, sampling and digital and face-to-face couponing (see www.promomarketing.info, May 13 2016). The £1.8m campaign focused on recruiting new consumers into the brand and supporting the launch of its new Volvic Juiced Tropical 50cl variant. The campaign ran throughout the summer months.

Danone Waters (UK & Ireland) Limited (DWUK) is the UK parent company of the bottled waters and beverages produced by evian, Volvic and BADOIT. Danone is a leading global food company built on four business lines: Fresh Dairy Products, Early Life Nutrition, Waters and Medical Nutrition. Present in over 130 markets, Danone generated sales of €22.4 billion in 2015, with more than half in emerging countries. Danone’s brand portfolio includes both international brands (Activia, Actimel, Danette, Danonino, Danio, evian, Volvic, Nutrilon/Aptamil, Nutricia) and local brands (Oikos, Prostokvashino, Aqua, Bonafont, Mizone, Blédina, Cow & Gate).

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