Whiskas (Masterfoods)

2002 IDM Business Performance Awards Highly Commended Re-gaining Market Leadership Using Direct Marketing Techniques Learning outcomes An appreciation of how to organise a new product launch. An appreciation of how a product extension strategy can be used to regain market leadership. An understanding of how to set clear campaign objectives. An appreciation of the value of customer research, even when your customers are cats. An understanding of the steps involved in implementing a high volume FMCG campaign. An understanding of how product sampling and door drops can be used to generate high volumes of new business. An understanding of the importance of targeting. An understanding of the importance of controlling distribution to ensure smooth fulfilment handling. Introduction Direct mail was the key driver that enabled Whiskas to regain a market leadership position and to change the entrenched buying habits of cat owners. The 'wet' cat food market is a high volume, high turnover business. The market overall was declining and value was falling when Whiskas used a combination of product innovation and direct mail to reverse the trend. Existing and new customers were targeted using knowledge about cats and their owners to create an effective communication. Background By 1998 Whiskas could no longer claim that eight out of ten cats preferred their product. The onceleading brand was trying to fight off competitors in a declining market. A strategic decision was made to launch a new, foil wrapped product. The 'pouch' was designed to replace tins and enable Whiskas to regain a market leadership position. From Whiskas point of view the pouch offered a unique selling point (USP) and higher profit margins. From the cat's viewpoint, a newly opened sachet of food at room temperature is far more desirable than a half eaten tin straight from the fridge. Initially a classic FMCG approach was adopted for the new product launch. This consisted of a heavyweight national TV campaign, followed by sampling activity targeted at the Whiskas database and cold lists. The new product was tried by a number of customers but the hoped for breakthrough failed to materialise. After 18 months of marketing, the pouches were viewed as a treat for pets and market penetration remained stagnant. Time pressure was mounting. The longer Whiskas took to achieve significant gains in the marketplace, the more likely it was that competitor pouch products would reach the market and continue the erosion of their market share. Following disappointing results from a tried and tested approach, clearly a fresh approach was required. More forceful marketing was required to break long established cat food purchasing habits.

Whiskas knew from previous experience that cat owners do not like to be told how they should feed their cats. The solution to these issues was an integrated campaign which delivered the largest cat food sampling exercise ever undertaken in the UK. The objectives The Whiskas marketing team decided to invest their marketing spend below the line. There were two main objectives for the pouch re-launch: To regain Whiskas' position as the market leader in the short term To replace traditional tins with a new pouch format in the long term

The business objectives were: To increase pouch penetration by 50 per cent To encourage trial amongst non-users To convert regular users of tins to regular users of pouches To increase frequency among current users To overcome the 'treat' image and position pouches as a daily product To overcome the perceived high value of pouches which needed to be offset against the fact that they are convenient, there is no waste and cats love them

Campaign 2000 The enclosure of two pouch samples had been insufficient to change cat-feeding habits. Market pressures didnt allow for extensive testing to establish the optimum number of sample pouches. Whiskas needed to capitalise quickly on the fact that they were the only manufacturer with the technology to produce pouches in large volumes. Research amongst cats had revealed that after three days of being fed pouches, cats invariably turn their noses up at any other food. Cats also prefer their food at room temperature, so half used tins of food that have been kept in the fridge are not the best way to feed them. This research formed the basis of the Whiskas Taste Challenge. The Taste Challenge direct mail pack contained six pouches, providing sufficient cat food for three days. Altering a cat's behaviour was the best way of convincing owners, who felt they knew best what to feed their pet. The Taste Challenge message carefully avoided telling the owner what to do. Instead, playing on the unmistakable evidence that a clean bowl means the animal has enjoyed the food, the challenge asked the owner to let the cat 'expert' decide. An integrated through the line campaign was developed, based mainly on direct to consumer communication. The hard working direct mail pack (see illustration) comprised six sample pouches, a feeding diary, a questionnaire, money off coupons and member get member. Cat owners are usually very responsive about giving information concerning their pets. The questionnaire provided vital feedback for Whiskas and strengthened their marketing message for subsequent campaigns. The feeding diary allowed owners to become more involved in feeding their

pets and softened the rather hard-edged questionnaire. The monetary value of the coupons was tested in the first year and the results fed into the second year's campaign. Messages were communicated using a combination of TV, radio and shopping trolley adverts to create instant awareness of the pouches and remind customers to buy them. A generic TV ad was shown regionally to support the regional rollouts of the Taste Challenge. Regional radio was also used, with participation promotions. Super Panel was used to evaluate the impact of the mailing. The results revealed a sustained impact on purchasing habits, lasting for six months after the mailing. A 14 per cent response to the un-incentivised feeding diary was important as it allowed Whiskas to create a message with great impact for subsequent campaigns. As a result of the successful 2000 campaign, direct marketing took over from advertising as the main model for future marketing activity for the first time in Whiskas' history. Follow-up campaign 2001 A more focused and integrated approach was adopted for 2001. The 2000 feeding diary results allowed Whiskas to reposition pouches as a mainstream feeding alternative to tins. The 2001 message was updated to read, "90 per cent of cats prefer Whiskas pouches to tins", making it easier to turn awareness into actual trial and ongoing purchase. The 90 per cent claim was used in a door drop recruitment piece, a follow-up pack to 2000 activity and the 2001 Taste Challenge pack. The message was also carried across TV, radio and press ads. Cats online A high number of responses to the door drops were anticipated so people were given the opportunity to respond online. Response via this channel reduced data capture costs. Online information featured TV and press images and online customers could download the images in the form of a screen saver. The online registration page fed directly into the marketing database and this allowed online responders to link directly into the consumer communication programme. The Whiskas website can be found at: www.whiskas.co.uk Data processing filters were put in place to identify target segments as follows;
Previous Taste Challenge Participants Customers with cats less than 10 months New Customers Send follow-up pack & money off coupons Send Kitten-care Pack

Send New Taste Challenge Pack

Targeting strategy Whiskas had managed to data capture 35 per cent of the UK's cat owning population by 2000. The Taste Challenge was initially sent to 1.4 million cat owners, from the in-house database and relevant cold lists. Households with more than two cats were de-selected from the communication plan as it was felt that the relative higher cost of pouches would preclude their regular use in these households. Also, a three-cat household would be likely to use whole tins of food at each meal. To reach the greatest number of potential customers, the Taste Challenge was initially sampled to as many cat owners as possible within the budget. The high mailing volume necessitated a phased approach based on TV regions, to co-ordinate communications and response handling. As the programme developed, a more targeted approach was adopted as knowledge of the target audience increased from analysis of results. By 2001 the Whiskas Taste Challenge pack had proved to be effective in converting regular users of tinned food to pouches. To reach a wider audience new lists had to be created. Door drops were selected as the most appropriate mass media for a targeted exercise. The main campaign target was the 25 per cent of the UK's households which own at least one cat. Previous responders to the Taste Challenge also needed to be identified at some point and treated appropriately. The Whiskas database was used to profile postcode sectors to identify areas with the strong likelihood of cat ownership. A combination of distribution methods, News Share, Royal Mail and solus, was adopted as a result. The creative was developed to attract new customers while recognising Taste Challenge 2000 responders. Previous responders were thanked for their contribution, given the Taste Challenge results and issued with money-off coupons for further pouch purchases. New customers were sent a 2001 direct mail pack containing six free pouches. Once again, the door drop delivery was phased to allow for efficient fulfilment. A proprietary tool was used to monitor and predict response patterns. As the campaign progressed the distribution schedule was adjusted as required. Targeting had to become more sophisticated as the campaign went on. The greatest impact from the mailing was achieved among customers who hadn't any previous knowledge of pouches. This made targeting relatively simple for the early stages of the campaign. A tailor-made version of the Taste Challenge was developed in conjunction with a leading supermarket. The supermarket selected customers from their database according to previous cat food purchase patterns. The supermarket customer list was de-duplicated against the Whiskas database and the unmatched names were then mailed. Not surprisingly, the response to this tightly targeted approach has significantly out-performed that to previous mailings targeted using less specific information. As a result, tighter targeting will be adopted for future mailings. The results The results from the Taste Challenge direct mail campaign are impressive. The first mailing in 2000 exceeded the 50 per cent increase in penetration objective and achieved 100 per cent. Whiskas have regained their market leadership position and their lead over competitors is stronger than ever before. Fifty per cent of the cat owning population have been sampled and more than 25 per cent of cat owning households in the UK now use Whiskas pouches. The campaign objective of converting cat owners from buying tins to pouches is well on the way to being achieved.

The value of Whiskas pouch sales have overtaken the value of Whiskas tinned food sales. The cat food market overall is growing in terms of value and Whiskas market share is at an all time high.