Louise Marsland’s (@Louise_Marsland) pick of new product, packaging and design launches.
KFC puts aside its iconic branding to promote hunger relief; Clorets breathes new life into Alex; Google and KitKat collaborate; Brand Union explains the new Vodafone ‘Power of Red’; and Kiehl’s finally opens up in Cape Town.
KFC surrenders the Colonel
What makes a brand? KFC clearly believes values are at the heart of a brand, giving up its iconic Colonel branding on its restaurants to highlight the plight of hungry children in South Africa. Instead of the Colonel logo, smiling faces of children will look down on the restaurant entrances for October and November.
The gesture is to mark World Hunger Relief month and draw attention to the plight of the 12 million South Africans, many of them children, who go hungry every day (source: University of Cape Town’s African Food Security Unit Network).
From 1 October to 9 November, customers will see six little faces at 114 KFC stores, one in each major city and town across the country. These faces represent the children that benefit from KFC’s corporate social responsibility initiative, Add Hope.
Since its launch in 2009, Add Hope has raised over R183 million towards feeding hungry children, as KFC Africa managing director Doug Smart explains: “KFC Add Hope brings our brand, customers and staff together to make a difference, because we quite simply believe, a hungry nation can never be a growing one.”
Through Add Hope, KFC feeds more than 40 000 children every month. KFC’s goal is to raise R2 million during the month of October from its customers to continue to spreading hope.
The Add Hope initiative which runs all year, lets customers purchase a menu item, “Add Hope” for just R2 and add it to their order.
A breath of fresh air
Clorets chose a novel campaign activation to launch its new two-piece box format packaging. The Supa Fresh through the line campaign began in Alexandra, Gauteng, where Clorets ‘refreshed’ a barren corner in the township using trash and junk from the street, turning it into a community park.
The aim is to “breathe fresh air” into an underutilised and dilapidated space, creating a “fresh” area for the community to gather in.
The refreshed packaging of the Clorets two-piece box is designed to give consumers access to fresh breath anywhere, anytime
Georgina Harpur, brand manager for Clorets Chewing Gum at Mondelez South Africa, comments: “The Clorets Supa Fresh project has truly brought to life the brand’s promise of freshness and confidence in the direct environment of our consumers.”
The gum showcases its fresh look across a full marketing campaign with a new TV commercial, national radio slots, OOH executions as well as a Supa Fresh public relations’ community-based project, ‘Supa Fresh The Street’.
“We wanted to bring back the box packaging in line with the Supa Fresh confidence that Clorets delivers anytime and anywhere,” says Harpur.
Clorets two-piece is sold in two flavours, Original and Fresh Mint, nationally.
Have a break… Google KitKat
More than 50 million specially branded Nestlé KitKat bars have been made available in 19 countries across the globe after Google named its new operating system, KitKat – in line with its trend to name operating systems after confectionery!
The bars were produced to mark the partnership and promotional packs directed consumers to a dedicated site where there is an opportunity to win prizes such as Google Nexus7 tablets, or exchange for credit to spend in Google play.
SA mobile airtime and rewards company TMARC was appointed as the mobile platform activation provider for the South African part of the global launch.
The competition uses unique technology provided by TMARC that enables customers to dial in a USSD short code and the last four digits of the bar code, which the TMARC system instantaneously validates and decides if the entrant is a winner. Once a winning mobile number is selected, the owner is contacted by TMARC to verify details and complete the delivery of the brand new Nexus 7.
TMARC will also provide Nestle with the data obtained from its profiling system, allowing Nestle to understand its consumer and shopper base more clearly and inform future strategy.
Vodafone’s Power of Red
The Brand Union has helped Vodafone create a new visual brand identity. The Brand Union’s teams in Singapore, Stockholm, London and New York, alongside digital brand consultancy partner Digit, were tasked with developing a new visual identity that was unique, adaptable across Vodafone’s markets, future-proof and modern.
The final design selected was conceived in Singapore and developed in London.
The new identity, Power of Red, uses the bright red synonymous with Vodafone to convey confident energy and progression. Central to the new identity is a flexible rhombus shape that anchors to the Vodafone roundel, positioning Vodafone as a catalyst for progress. It is being introduced across Vodafone’s markets over the next few months.
Vodafone group brand director, Barbara Haase said the new visual brand identity was a true representation of Vodafone: never static – always moving – and ensuring that their technology empowers users.
Christina Futcher, client director, The Brand Union, said: “Today, every moment of interaction between brand and user must feel like a real relationship; a consistent experience wherever you are. To fall short on that authenticity test and the consumer will not allow you to progress any further. Our team at the Brand Union has been collaborating with Vodafone, evolving its visual brand identity for over a decade.”
Kiehl’s Cape Town opens
UPDATE: The first Kiehl’s store will open in Cape Town, 1 October, inside the Edgars at Canal Walk. Since the opening of the first Kiehl’s store on the African continent in September last year, there has been an ever-increasing demand from customers for this iconic 162-year-old New York skin- and hair care brand, from around South Africa.
Kiehl’s has also launched its Super Multi-Corrective Cream to simultaneously lift, firm and visibly redefine skin contours and re-texturise skin within two weeks with double efficacy shown within four weeks. It will be available 1 October in South Africa.
– Shelf Life by Louise Marsland is a weekly column on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com.
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Louise Marsland has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 18 years of her 25 year media career as a former Editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing; as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. She currently edits the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper; and is the co-founder and Publishing Editor of SA’s newly launched industry trendwatching portal, TREND. at www.trendlives.info, in partnership with MarkLives.com.