From repellent to compelling: how Jungle Formula took the sting out of summer
Jungle Formula is the number one insect repellent brand in the UK and has been around for 20 years. The brand has experienced steady growth, but largely due to increased overseas travel.
It was clear following sales results for the first part of 2010 that the brand would suffer unless something was done. However, the category has never had any significant ATL spend and we faced a number of challenges:
- The fall in holidays
abroad meant the category was in decline
- The type of holiday
being taken (predominantly short-haul) meant a ‘Jungle’ brand was perceived as
overkill by consumers not travelling long-haul
- The price premium
(around 26% higher than market average) needs justification
- Brand salience was
low (research highlighted that the leading own label brand had significantly
stronger spontaneous brand awareness)
The strategy was therefore threefold:
- Increase brand fame
in time for the holiday season: improve spontaneous brand awareness, and show
Jungle Formula is the leading brand
- Demonstrate that Jungle
Formula is as much for Greece as Guatamala
- Justify the price by
building on Jungle Formula’s reputation for efficacy
The campaign had a modest budget of £470k, but TV was identified as the most appropriate channel for creating impact. We needed to reach mainstream holiday makers in the summer months, June to August. We maximised budget by up-weighting peak on terrestrial channels (to drive additional 1+ coverage efficiently), up-weighting key shopping days and identifying relevant programming to improve communication.
We were also on the ball, quickly maximising the impact of Cheryl Cole’s malaria incident by snapping up over 1.3m search impressions for just £250.
Having experienced decline in 2009, Jungle Formula volume sales grew by over 5% in 2010. What’s more, this uplift was entirely driven by the second half of the year (after the campaign broke) representing a dramatic recovery from a poor H1. Value sales growth was even more striking, with a year on year leap of 15%.
All of this means we entered
2011 as a stronger brand, both for consumers (who have higher spontaneous brand
awareness, and understand Jungle Formula isn’t just a long-haul option) and
retailers the campaign grew the category as a whole by 1.2% and was awarded an IPA Effectiveness Award.
