Working in Marketing, I’m super sensitive about brands trying to target me as a consumer. I don’t see many campaigns that surprise me, but last weekend Innocent grabbed my attention, not so much because of their creativity, more because they embraced me with a big warm hug.
Lots of people put Innocent on a pedestal as a challenger brand. To be honest, I’m a bit bored of hearing about them. But last weekend, they won me over with the best example of integrated marketing I’ve seen in a while.
It started in Sainsbury’s with my seven year old daughter (she was in charge, not me) looking for stuff my wife had asked us to get. A chilled cabinet full of Innocent smoothies with woolly hats caught my eye, marking the company’s Big Knit campaign to support better nutrition for elderly people over the winter months. We had a giggle about the hats, then moved on without picking up the product or making a purchase (late as ever!).
When I got home, I scanned the Times that had dropped on my doormat earlier. In the magazine, I spotted a full page ad from Innocent promoting the campaign. So now I knew what it was all about. I was impressed Innocent had gone out on a limb with an issue that affects elderly people (not kids, pandas, rainforest or other more obvious causes). I also remembered somebody in the office mentioning St. Winifreds choir were reforming a few weeks ago to re-record Grandma. I said to my wife that I’d heard about the choir, seen the hats and now the ad. As usual, she was well ahead of me and had seen the campaign in previous years. So off we both went, with Innocent working its way into our consciousness.
The weekly shop arrives a couple of days later. What’s inside? Some of the new veg pots from Innocent. Why? My wife was shopping online and spotted them, so thought we’d try them. They were great, we’ll have them again. This week, the guest smoothie appeared in our fridge. Delicious, we’ll probably have it again. So with a cute gimmick, some well placed ads, a remarkable CSR campaign and new products, Innocent has slipped itself into our weekly family shop and we all feel better for it.
innocent, integrated marketing, Neil Bayley