Horlicks, the malted drink made by Aimia Foods has appointed promotional marketing agency Cat Among The Pigeons to attract a younger shopper audience to the brand through a 360 shopper marketing campaign.

Horlicks, which is celebrating its 150^th anniversary this year has traditionally been consumed as a relaxing bedtime drink to aid sleep. This unique malted drink is now available in original, chocolate, instant and vegan variants and is fortified with 14 different minerals and vitamins. Cat Among The Pigeons remit will be to expand household penetration by associating Horlicks with a wider range of drinking occasions across the day.

The appointment follows a 4-way competitive pitch and sees the Leeds agency create a major new shopper advertising campaign to ‘find your happy place’ across digital media, out of home and in store.  Also planned this year are a range of targeted promotions and brand partnerships to add value and encourage trial from supermarkets and convenience stores.

Commenting on the appointment, Michelle Younger, Marketing Director at Aimia Foods said “as guardians of Horlicks we need to evolve this historic brand to stay relevant and grow long term brand and category value.  The proposal from Cat Among The Pigeons really impressed with their insight into changing shopper behaviour and a creative 360 marketing plan to reach them and win at fixture.  We’re really excited to be working together.”

Paul McGann, founder of Cat Among The Pigeons added “we’re living in difficult times with seismic change in home, leisure and working patterns over the last couple of years.  Hybrid working, zoom meetings, shopping around online… all whilst juggling extended family life and school runs has become the norm. We think there is a great opportunity to better align Horlicks to these busy days. Encouraging more shoppers to take a moment out to find their happy place and focus on their wellbeing.”

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The Flavourists, a new plant-based meal kit brand, has appointed promotional marketing consultancy Cat Among The Pigeons to help further grow sales.

The Flavourists was launched in April and is backed by major British food manufacturer, Samworth Brothers. Cat Among The Pigeons will be responsible for creating promotional campaigns that encourage trial and grow rate of sale in supermarkets nationally.  The aim is to help them stand out in the fast growing, but fiercely competitive plant-based category.

The Flavourists brand is on a mission to inspire more consumers to embrace creative cooking with plants. It has already secured supermarket listings for two of its meal kit ranges: Sizzle Kits which includes Creamy Makhani Style Curry, and Sizzle & Stir which includes Sticky Teriyaki and Herby Green Pesto.  The meal kits retail from £3.45 – £4.75 and promise superlative flavours for those who like cooking with plants but don’t like to compromise on taste.  

Commenting on the appointment, Mia Hartwell, Co-Creator of The Flavourists said “these are exciting times for us at as we rapidly expand our listings and launch a host of new plant-based products. Cat Among The Pigeons really impressed with their insight, agility and promotional strategy, demonstrating a great track record of growing new grocery brands.  We’re thrilled to be working with them.”

Paul McGann, founder of Cat Among The Pigeons added “plant-based meals are no longer just for vegans and vegetarians.  More and more shoppers are switching from meat to plants as a part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. The chance to help The Flavourists unlock the massive potential with supermarket shoppers is very exciting.”

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Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC (Fuller’s), the London brewer and premium pub company, has just launched London Pride Unfiltered, which it says is its biggest beer launch in a generation, at the four-day long Craft Beer Rising event in the former Truman Brewery in London’s East End which took place this weekend.

The event started with a trade-only day on February 22^nd,and opened to the public from February 23^rd until February 25^th. Fulham-based agency marketing agency ignis created an activation space to bring the new product and the Fuller’s brand to life for the event.

London Pride Unfiltered is a 4.1% unfiltered variant of one of the UK’s favourite beers and comes in 30 litre kegs, which Fullers says will open the brand up to a new consumer and a new drinking occasion.

ignis Executive Creative Director, Nick Peters, says: “Craft Beer Rising provides a fantastic opportunity to introduce the brand to a new audience, as well as those well versed in London Pride cask. When it came to designing the space, it was important to ensure that it showcased ‘Unfiltered’, not just as a process, but as a unique attitude, rooted in contemporary London.”

The beer is brewed true to London Pride’s original recipe, but is then dry hopped with Target Hops for added character and flavour. With the goal of making the beer as natural as possible, the beer is centrifuged, but not filtered or pasteurised, to retain taste, complexity and Fuller’s character. The result, according to Fuller’s, is a hazy, hoppy, tasty beer in a keg, served at between 4° and 6° degrees, which delivers quality and flavour.

Fullers Beer Company managing director Simon Dodd observes: “The London Pride brand name has heritage and authenticity and we now feel the time has come to leverage these qualities and bring London Pride to a more contemporary environment. Our excellent brewing team has taken the same great recipe and, by dry hopping the beer at the end, created a beer, in keg, that has balance, flavour and is true to the character of any Fullers beer.”

Fuller, Smith and Turner is an independent traditional family brewer founded in 1845 and based at the historic Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, London, where brewing has taken place continuously since 1654. The Fuller’s Beer Company brews a portfolio of premium beers including London Pride, Oliver’s Island, ESB, Organic Honey Dew and Frontier Craft Lager. In June 2013, the Company acquired Cornish Orchards, a craft cider maker producing a range of award-winning ciders and premium soft drinks. Fuller’s is also the UK distributor for premier US craft beer Sierra Nevada.

ignis is a multi-award winning independent brand activation agency based in Fulham. It has worked for clients including Jameson Whiskey, Sheraton Hotels, FST, Betfair and Cuticura.

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Clipper Teas, the Fairtrade tea brand owned by Wessanen UK, has launched a new on-pack promotion across its range of organic teas to reward existing fans and attract new customers to the brand.

The ‘With love from Clipper’ initiative incentivises purchases of Clipper’s Fairtrade Everyday Tea (£2.55 for 80 bags), Organic Everyday Tea (£2.60 for 80 bags) and Pure Green Tea (£2.79 for 80 bags). It offers fans the chance to own a series of limited edition tea caddies and tea towels, each featuring colourful designs linked to the established brand’s distinctive packaging. An online competition also provides the opportunity for tea-lovers to own the whole set.

The promotion looks to build on Clipper’s success as the UK’s fastest-growing black tea brand; Clipper has grown its value sales by 8% in the last 12 months (IRI w/e 8 October 2016). It also takes place during Clipper’s 20th anniversary of selling Fairtrade green tea in UK supermarkets.

“Life’s too short for bad tea,” comments Gill Green, Marketing Director at Wessanen UK. “Quality drives everything we do here at Clipper, from the way in which we source our tea right through to the experience that our customers receive when purchasing. We’re committed to getting tea from crop to cup in the best possible way.”

Gill Green adds: “We know how important it is to keep tea in tip-top condition; that’s why we have designed this limited edition range of caddies and tea towels to reward and delight fans of our brand.”

Sourced from some of the world’s finest tea estates across East Africa, India and Sri Lanka, Clipper’s signature teas have been blended and packed in Dorset since Clipper first launched in 1984. Clipper was the first UK tea brand to carry the Fairtrade mark in 1994, and has been fiercely committed to ethical tea sourcing ever since.

The Fairtrade tea brand owned by Wessanen UK believes that “life’s too short for bad tea”

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Europe’s “first chia seed based drink”, wow, has appointed Diffusion as its retained agency to handle its launch in the UK, following a competitive pitch.

wow is made by cold-pressing fruit and vegetables and adding hydrated chia seeds. As a ‘superfood’, chia seeds are supposed to help hydrate the body, boost metabolism and activate glycogen, which burns fat and provides a feeling of fullness, according to the brand.

Diffusion has been chosen to build brand awareness for wow with a content-driven campaign. The team will develop and implement an integrated campaign to convey wow’s “Made Amazing” proposition.

Working alongside the brand’s internal marketing and comms team, Diffusion will create a series of consumer activations, provide a press office function, and run events as well as experiential, blogger, vlogger and influencer engagement programmes to “inspire and excite” the brand’s target audience.

Oliver Dickinson, co-founder of Wow Food & Drinks, the company behind wow, said: “As the first offering of its kind in Europe, we needed an agency with a fresh and creative approach to build awareness for wow and capture the imagination our target audience. The Diffusion team has strong experience in the food and drink category and with new FMCG product launches.”

Remy Le Fèvre, head of consumer at Diffusion, added: “As the first chia seed based drink in the UK, we’re really excited to introduce wow to consumers and the industry. It’s no secret that the UK drinks market is hugely competitive which is why it’s essential for brands such as wow to build meaningful and authentic relationships with consumers. Diffusion’s campaign will draw on our experience working with challenger brands in the food and drink space, and our extensive network of media and influencers.”

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Renault last week unleashed a fleet of 70 Renault Twingos throughout central London so the capital’s public could test drive or test ride for free, to raise awareness and engagement with the A-Segment super mini.

Renault is trying to position the Twingo as a fun city car, along the lines of the very similar Smart ForFour. It teamed up with Hertz to put 70 Twingos on the streets in five locations across London – Hertz’s Marble Arch branch on the Edgware Road, Westfield (in Stratford and White City), ExCel and Battersea Park – from Wednesday 20th April to Friday 22nd April for free test drives and rides.

The cars drove throughout London in groups of 10 via iconic landmarks and hotspots to attract test drives and engagement with the brand. Anyone who took a trip in a Twingo on Wednesday April 20th was entered into a draw to win tickets to a ‘Secret’ Spotify Gig in London on Thursday, headlined by Katy B, with a Twingo and chauffeur to take them there. Consumers unable to take advantage of a free ride in a Twingo were also able to enter the draw by uploading their details to a website.

James Boyer, Marketing Director at Groupe Renault UK & Ireland, said: “Twingo is the ultimate city car – trendy chic, fun as well as incredibly practical, so what better way to show it off to Londoners than with the most creative city test drive ever, one that comes to you, and that can even get you access to a unique concert that is sure to be a fantastic night.”

The marketing campaign was put together for Renault by Manning Gottlieb OMD, Hertz and experiential agency Fusion Events.

The campaign was supported by digital and print marketing including Renault’s own channels as well as a partnership with Spotify and Time Inc. Bloggers Roxy and Hannah Leigh will also be producing bespoke content as part of the editorial outreach.

It is the first time Renault has used live brand experience in the way to offer test drives and trips to consumers. The company now plans to use more live experiences to connect with potential purchasers and opinion formers.

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Fairtrade green tea brand Clipper Teas is running a ‘New Year Revolutions’ integrated campaign with outdoor and transport advertising and a ‘money back’ promotion to encourage consumers to ‘turn over a new leaf’ in 2016.

Clipper Teas, owned by Wessanen UK, wants to attract both new green tea ‘considerers’ and existing green tea drinkers to the brand.

The two-pronged campaign will feature a heavyweight outdoor and transport campaign together with a playful online video shot using hidden cameras inside ClipperTeas’ very own ‘Truthful Green Tea Shop’.

Throughout January, consumers will be able to trial Clipper’s range of green tea packs with the reassurance of a ‘tastes great or your money bank’ promotional guarantee. The brand’s extensive promotional activity aims to ensure that new green tea drinkers become Clipper Teas drinkers this January.

The outdoor campaign will reach 90% of adults across London and the South East during January. The YouTube video, which light-heartedly questions some of the processes and ethics behind other green teas, will be shared extensively via bloggers and social media. Clipper Teas expects over 1 million people to watch the video during 2016.

The planned activity aims to attract new green tea ‘considerers’ as well as existing green tea drinkers to the Clipper Teas brand, capitalising on the annual sales uplift that is typically seen within the green tea market in the first month of the year.

Green tea has long been ClipperTeas heartland. 2015 saw the company add another 100,000 new green tea consumers and grow its total green tea penetration by 15%, according to Kantar Worldpanel figures.

“The green tea market has seen considerable growth over the past three years as healthy living continues to rise up the consumer agenda. But consumer concern over bitter-tasting green tea still remains,” said Rebecca Vercoe, Clipper Teas brand controller at Wessanen UK. “We’re looking to address this by introducing an even wider audience to the distinctively light and fresh, Clipper green tea taste profile.”

A recent Clipper Teas research study found that the single biggest barrier to green tea adoption was the perception that consumers were not going to like the taste. The company’s acquisition campaign looks to challenge this with a range of creative activations focused on taste.

Vercoe explains: “We believe that the more natural the tea, the more natural the taste. Clipper uses only young leaves and works closely with experienced growing partners to delicately process these, with nothing artificial added along the way. This means light, delicate and refreshing tea, with no bitter after-taste. The last thing we want is for new green tea drinkers to buy a green tea and then be put off forever, either because it doesn’t deliver on taste or it has a nasty after-taste due to poor processing, artificial flavourings or fortification.”

The new outdoor campaign has been created by Big Fish. The Truthful Green Tea Shop was conceived, produced and filmed by Exposure.

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