Innocense is bliss...

According to a recent article in Marketing magazine, sales of the smoothie brand Innocent have plummeted by 20%. Such a statistic indicates that even the most sound, stable and squeaky clean brands are not free from risk from the economic downturn.

Alongside the article are also two anecdotes to Innocent’s problem by senior marketing directors Steve Cooper (co-founder and director of Feel Good Drinks Company) and Michael Sugden (managing director of VCCP) but they are not without their discrepancies.

Cooper is right in pointing out that consumers are now seeking cheaper alternatives and that Innocent have been, ‘Operating in a period of economic boom without any significant direct competition’. It is also very true that, ‘There’s a lot of justification for a carton of Innocent’ but I do not agree with his view that being innocent is all that the brand should be.

Instead I agree with Sugden that, ‘The innocent world has closed up on itself’. The market is no longer innocent. It has become even more competitive, ruthless and threatening. If anything it is time for Innocent to get downright dirty.

Sugden is also right in arguing that Innocent needs to refresh its communications and remind people why they bought the product in the first place. It also needs reposition itself as the market leader and differentiate itself by even attacking cheaper alternatives for their poorer ethical business practices compared to themselves.

Innocent may find itself facing a difficult time, but it is as Martin Luther King Jr put it,

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort,but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

A Touch of Frost

McCann Erickson’s campaign for the skin cancer charity, Skcin demonstrates the lack of objectivity some consumers have when facing marketing messages.

The campaign utilised print and outdoor ads, street leafleting, PR and digital seeding to launch a bogus company called ComputerTan which claimed to be able to offer people top-up tans by converting the electrical impulse delivered to PC’s into radiated factor three UVC rays.

I found out about the campaign through one of my favourite blogs, Spinning Around and although the cheesy video clip (and to buzz word, Tantastic) did spark of concerns that this was a bit of a piss take, it did persuade me to check out the uncannily professionally designed website.

Upon starting my free session I realised the true purpose of the campaign as my ‘free session’ soon revealed the dangers of too much sun exposure through a series of shocking images.

I have total admiration for this campaign because I believe that my first perception of the company was like everyone else’s. You suspect that it’s a hoax but there’s a part of you that believes it is true and when you realise that you’ve been fooled, you also realise that all the clues were there to indicate this in the first place. The result is a powerful campaign and the consumer having respect for being hoaxed and such feelings are reciprocated onto the charity, its’ message and its’ intention.

The campaign also demonstrates how the characteristics of the media channel affect the value placed upon the message. Whether Skcin were on a budget or not, I can’t help but think that the campaign wouldn’t have been so successful if it had advertised on television.

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