Electrolux - commitment to 'Thinking of You'

Yesterday I spotted a great ad by Electrolux in the newspaper - it was highlighting one of their vacuum cleaners. But instead of focusing on the vacuum cleaner message I spotted the Electrolux brand tagline 'Thinking of you'.

I had not seen that tagline before. Is it maybe new? But when I saw it I was so pleased to see that Electrolux has such a strong commitment to consumers. Based on news in the marketplace, hirings and their recent, successful launches I have already understood that something is happening at Electrolux. During the last few years they have moved from a technically driven appliances manufacturer to a consumer insight centric solution provider. Electrolux is deeply committed to consumer centric and insight driven innovation, and it was fantastic to see that this commitment has also translated to their brand communication. I think the total change to a consumer centric company will continue but whilst their at it and beyond I believe we will see great things from Electrolux. I'm not only looking to buy a sexy Ergorapido vacuum cleaner asap (how did they manage to make a vacuum cleaner sexy and desirable?) but will also look into buying some shares...  

Tesco unveils upgraded value range

Gosh - it certainly isn't easy to find some space to write anything these days. I am on maternity leave - now with two little kids in the house. It is magical but it has also been quite a change to handle the switch from one to two. And the change has certainly resulted in very few moments for myself so far.
But I do want to share an interesting newsflash that I read today. This time about Tesco, one of the worlds largest and most innovative retailers. Tesco is the king of private label branding and now they've upgraded and rebranded their low cost, low frills Tesco Value range. The Value range has been part of the Tesco offer for a very long time. This portfolio of blue and white striped products was launched more than twenty years ago and includes products across all categories and grocery aisles.

Now the Value range that we have seen so far is history. During these years of recession and European economic turmoil Tesco has decided to update and upgrade the Value portfolio. Its revamped look and feel is developed to add higher quality associations. And the new brand name of ' Everyday Value' should demonstrate that this is more than a design upgrade. Tesco has reviewed the entire portfolio and upgraded the range of products with more modern, desirable food whilst getting rid of nasties such as MSG across the whole range.

It may seem a bit surprising that Tesco has decided to do this change now - at a time when one would assume that many Brits would be bargain hunters and rather interested in the 'old' Value range. But I think that Tesco is right on track with this change - and maybe it should have happened sooner. I assume that this move is based on a long-term decline in sales of the Value range and that the 'old' Value range wasn't seen to reflect positively on Tesco as a quality brand and grocery chain.

Behind this I also believe that this move represents a longer-term change in western society. Consumers have become more quality and health aware. And to only focus on 'cheap' and 'bargain' isn't enough anymore. Fewer are prepared to make the trade-off between cheap, empty calories and nutritious food.  When producers or grocery chains focus on this single-minded message of 'cheap' it comes with negative associations to 'bad quality and bad for me', resulting in declining sales of the cheapest products in store... 

So it is interesting to see that the largest Swedish grocery chain ICA just launched their 'Basic' range concept. A range that is... well, basic... It's red and white clinical exterior doesn't appeal to anyone with an interest in food or nutrition, but is solely focused on the cash stripped bargain hunters. I would not be surprised if ICA looked west when developing this range, inspired by the 'old' Tesco Value look and feel. So, given the Tesco move away from this focus it will certainly be interesting to see how well this line of products is being received in Sweden.

Philadelphia cream cheese with Cadbury chocolate - a launch with potential?

Today I heard about this interesting co-branding launch by Kraft Foods. It has been two years since Kraft Foods acquired Cadbury, and now Kraft Foods is joining two of its most famous brands together by marrying Britain’s most famous chocolate brand with Philadelpia cream cheese. And Kraft has high hopes for the new launch targeting £10m in sales in the first year alone.

In the UK this product will be launched in February 2012. And it will be merchandised next to the other chilled cheese spreads and the plain Philadelphia. It will be sold in a 160g tub and a 120g four-pack of mini tubs (both rsp: £1.62). The launch will be supported with a £3.2m marketing budget.

In Germany and Italy Kraft already offers chocolate variants of Philadelphia through the Milka chocolate brand. And in those markets they focus on the breakfast occasion. The interesting thing here is that in these markets consumers are already used to using chocolate spread - Nutella is very popular in both Germany and Italy. I now look forward to see how the Brits and the country of Marmite respond to the idea of sweet rather than savoury on their toasts..

And in the UK Kraft has understood that they cannot position the Philadelphia Cadbury spread against the same occasion as in those markets. Instead consumer research has identified Philadelphia with Cadbury as a snack, rather than as a breakfast spread. The question is if the 'snack' occasion will be big and interesting enough to pursue in the longer term... Time will tell...

Logosack - an opportunity to buy a new and professional looking logo in an instant

This is a great concept that I just need to share with you all. Lobby design in Stockholm has launched a company and website called Logosack where you can buy a logo by just using a few mouse clicks. I have tried this website and the logos look very professional. And for just 2000SEK per logo (approx. 200EUR or 280USD) I think they are a real bargain. The website exists only in Swedish today but will soon be available also in English.


Just during the past few months I've had several friends asking me for advice on how to create logos for their websites, small independant freelance consultancies and blogs. The cost of using a design agency to create a custom made logo is often simply too high for new founded small businesses or for bloggers, and I think this kind of service is a fantastic way to offer many more businesses and people nice looking logos for a very good price. Great idea, innovative thinking, and with a fabolous and simple execution. I might just have to buy a Logosack logo myself...

The 11 Most Innovative Online Retailers

I got a note today from Online MBA linking to an article on their blog about the 11 most innovative online retailers. Personally I find the future of online retailing absolutely fascinating. It is amazing how names like Amazon and Ebay have carved out their space in the retail world and such strong roles in their respective markets. Consumers and especially young consumers are becoming more and more used to buying their stuff online, and as this tendency increase the traditional retailers will see their sales falling while the ones with a strong online role will grow and grow. This will certainly take longer in certain categories, while the developments in other categories will boom. Yes, it may feel a bit strange buying your shoes online the first time you do it, but when you've tried it and it works you're likely to do it again, and again. Especially if the selection and prices are better than on the high-street.

So, enjoy the read. I had never heard of some of these names before but now I will need to start to google them asap to find out more about their innovative approach to retailing.

Abba Middagsklart - clever and credible addition to the Abba brand portfolio

One of the hard things for established FMCG companies is to find new growth and credible brand extension opportunities in the market. There are different reasons why this is so hard. One difficult thing is of course to decide in which direction to go -  to identify market and brand potential and to prioritise between different the different growth opportunities in the market.
Another issue is also the difficulty of breaking into new territory by overcoming the challenges of the current production capabilities and potential. All the above represent just some of the challenges any big FMCG company will face when considering entering new market space.

That's also why this new launch by Abba Seafood grabbed my attention in the supermarket today. Abba has successfully innovated within the current realms of their production and category capabilities. They've worked themselves higher up in the value and margin hierarchy, and they've added some interesting and relevant brand extensions. But with the launch of Abba Middagsklart they demonstrate a commitment to do even more. The Abba Middagsklart concept is a range of casseroles and sauces especially developed to cater for the convenience seeker and cleverly linked to the growing interest in eating seafood, and the incredible growth in fresh and frozen salmon sales.

I really like this launch. A casserole ended up in my shopping basket straight away, and the product delivered to my expectations as well. I will definetely try more of these products, and I congratulate Abba on entering new territory where they cater to a very clear convenience and 'I wanna eat more seafood but I don't know how to cook those dishes' need with a very credible brand offer.

Arla upgrades design of Arla Cow hard cheese

My husband and I take turns doing the weekly grocery shopping. Today it was his turn and yet again he managed to do his shopping in 40 minutes. A trip that normally takes me about 1,5hours since I tend to spend more time looking at brands, new launches and new design, rather than focusing on the shopping list... Well, I guess it comes with the trade...

Anyway, when unloading the bags I managed to spot something quite interesting. I think I've previously highlighted the brand positioning 'closer to nature' work by Arla, one of the largest dairy FMCG companies in Europe. Arlas new brand positioning has so far resulted in a new corporate logo, an impressive number of new ads and quite a few new products. The Arla total brand family is huge, and it cannot be an easy task trying to connect all the different sub-brands to the now more 'natural' motherbrand. Some need to be tied more closely to the core values of the 'mother', and others should be allowed to act more freely, given a different role in the market.

Anyway, back to the point. What I spotted today was a new design for Arla's range of hard cheese. Looking at the previous design it may have been clear and recognisable. But it also gave a very industrial and cold impression. With Arla now aiming for a warmer, more natural touch, it was interesting to see the upgraded design of hard cheese. Spot the difference below.

To the left you can see the old design for Arla Präst - with the Arla Cow quite prominently displayed on the front, on black background, and with a photo of a sandwich with cheese on the left.

What can one say about this design? Cold, rather boring, basic, isn't it?

Now, look at the new design below. And bear in mind that the pastic packaging solution is exactly the same.
Personally I think the new design conveys a higher quality cheese. But not only that. In the new design there is a linkage to cheese heritage and tradition, and a clearer and more logical brand architecture with connection between Arla corporate, Arla  cow and last but not least to the variant Präst. I especially like the new Cow seal that holds the variant name.

In the new design Arla is also aiming to lift the taste and consumer benefits of Präst cheese through simple yet tasteful storytelling. I think this is the right way to go in a category that is highly competitive and where Arla must convince consumers that it makes sense to stick to the Arla brand, and not divert to the growing number of cheap no label or private label alternatives.

One thing that I find may still be missing in the new design is a stronger connection to 'naturalness'. The usage of 'beige' is surely there to convey this feel but maybe it could have been even more prominent. Hard cheese is surely a natural product - so there is definetely no mismatch with naturalness and the product itself.

So, to summarise the argumentation above I must say that I like these upgrades by Arla and I look forward to follow the next steps of Arla building and developing their brand and broad product portfolio.

Norwegian Airlines – the impact of poor customer service on a total brand experience

About once per week I set the alarm on a quarter to four in the morning and drag myself out of bed to prepare to catch a flight to Finland and a good day of meetings. I’ve got the total morning routine sussed out pretty well by now. 

Once at the airport Finnair or SAS used to be my airlines of choice. But then I discovered the simplicity of flying Norwegian. A streamlined process with quick check-in and no queues at terminal 2, and the gate just after security, not a 2k walk away… With nice new planes and smiling staff there has simply been nothing to complain about. By now I have probably experienced around 40 Norwegian Airline journeys to and from Finland. And I must say I used to be a fairly content and satisfied customer. I could in fact even call myself a  Norwegian Airlines brand promoter. Well, that was until today…

A first issue is that at Helsinki Vantaa airport Norwegian has moved from terminal 1 to terminal 2. Since the move check-in is just not working as well any longer and today it was a nightmare. I was late – this is true. But I was there just a few minutes before the check-in closed 45 minutes before take-off. With no luggage to check-in I wasn’t the least worried. However, I somehow managed to mess around with my booking number and the check-in machine. The usual things like writing a 0 instead of an O… and the clock must have ticked on… so all of a sudden the machine wouldn’t allow check-in anymore…

So I promptly walked to the check-in staff. There were two people in front of me in the queue and two staff, one woman and one man. The man was busy doing something important so he couldn’t be bothered with customers and the queue grew. I waited patiently and the clock turned to 40 minutes before check-in until I got to speak to the lady. She informed me that I had missed my opportunity to check-in... Of course I got a bit stressed about this as you do... Especially since I had promised to pick-up my kid from kindergarten straight from the flight.

I said: “I was here before 45 minutes but I had to jiggle with the machines…and I went to the counter as soon as I realized they did not work ”. The lady looked over at her colleague the man and he said: “Oh, so it really took you 10 minutes to walk from the machine to the counter”

Well, I am pregnant but I am still rather mobile... and the journey from the machine to the counter was approx 10 meters. So no, the walk probably took me about 20 seconds... The cheek of a rude man! I got so furious at this supposed to be customer service guy who took the opportunity to tell me off and really enjoy it too! It was totally unnecessary, especially since he simply could have told me in a nice way that I could check in with my mobile phone and the code – which I also did after a furious walk to security. I'm now going to use the strong word bastard!

So, my brand experience of Norwegian has deterioriated through this smug little man who took the opportunity to tell off a customer who used to be a brand promoter. And a customer who via her company spends approx 6000-8000SEK on Norwegian journeys per month. What a clever man!

So this long storey is the storey of how I moved from brand promoter to a brand disliker through one poor customer interface that lasted just a few minutes. One man managed to ruin a relationship I have with Norwegian Airlines - and believe me, this example will be used by me as a future reference when I talk about the importance of delivering a branded service promise at ‘key moments of truth’. This certainly was one for me...

Tesco moves beyond private label with venture brand Chocablok

I read something today that I found really fascinating. And this is why I want to share these news with you. Earlier this year Tesco unveiled their plans to develop global product brands, that are different to traditional retailer private label. For a start, these Tesco brands are no longer talked of as private label, but instead they are seen as brands in their own right, and there is no mention of the Tesco parent brand on the packaging.

The first of these brands to hit the shelves was a luxury ice-cream brand called Chocablok. Chocablok is claimed to be made by an “expert team of master cremeliers’ with more than 100 years experience between them. It is a luxury ice cream made from what is said to be a blend of the finest ingredients including real chocolate, whole milk, double cream and free- range eggs. Sounds all good to me! I can't wait to try this one...

But, it doesn't come cheap... Each pack retails at £3.99 per 500ml, a pricing that clearly emphasises its premium positioning amongst the likes of Ben & Jerry’s, Haägen Dazs, and Mövenpick.

What does Tesco say about this then? “Our venture brands are very different to own-label,” said Tesco brand developer, Sidonie Kingsmill to Marketing Magazine, “they will never be "me-too" products. We look at where the customer opportunities are, where brands are not succeeding and what we can do in addition to brands. We’re in a unique position as the biggest retailer, with access to the best suppliers worldwide.”

This development made me reflect on the limitations of private label. Private label has developed a lot since its early days as a discount and often rather boring offer. Today we can find PL goods across the whole range of categories and the British retailers are phenomenal at this. However, this Tesco example might also demonstrate some of the limitations of PL. Clearly Tesco isn't just doing this for fun. No, instead they've carefully analysed the situation and realised that they can make even more money if they also develop brands that are 'freed' from the motherbrand, and thus able to compete against other brands with no danger of being held back by the mother brand associations i.e. in this case Tesco.
Well, that is just one reflection, I guess there must be more reasons why Tesco is venturing into this arena. And maybe some of the other simple reasons are: plenty of cash, retailer power and distribution network. They simply can!

Starbucks continues expansion plans in Sweden

In 2010 the first Starbucks was opened in Sweden at terminal 5 at Arlanda airport. Now it's apparently time for more, as Starbucks plans to open up a few more cafés next year at the high traffic locations of central stations in Gothenburg and Malmö.

Sweden already have a number of Starbucks 'wannabees' including Waynes Coffee and Espresso House. I've complained before that I don't think those two chains have established enough differentiation and uniqueness in their brand and service concept. And with Starbucks entering they might have to think about this, and how to keep their customer base if a Starbucks would open up around the corner. Strong brands always have a big advantage, but of course - in the coffee chain world the biggest advantage of all is great tasting coffee at a high traffic location...