Cadbury recently launched the first campaign for their Bourneville dark chocolate sub-brand in 50 years. The new campaign seeks to resurrect this old brand and make it relevant for a new generation. No doubt food & health trends that favour darker chocolate inspired the Cadbury team. However, the brand had some drawbacks that needed managing. It was an old brand, having been around since 1908. And it lacks the serious dark chocolate credentials of more premium rivals.
Here’s why we think the new campaign is strategically very sound.
1. Avoids the cost of a new brand
Cadbury could have invested heavily in creating a new dark chocolate sub-brand. Instead, they have breathed new life into an existing sub-brand with strong latent awareness.
2. Amplifies the brand’s strengthens
The team have focused on amplifying the strengths Bourneville does have. The tagline “Made to be enjoyed (not endured)” taps into the taste benefit the brand has over premium 70% cacao chocolate brands – a sweeter taste owing to a higher sugar content. The brand aims squarely at people who like chocolate, want to be healthier but don’t like the bitterness of premium bars.
Different executions see to hammer home the brand’s distinctiveness. One execution turns the brand’s less premium positioning into a strength, by saying it’s “Nothing fancy. Or shcmancy”. Another dials up the less bitter taste, with the line “None of that bitter nonsense”.
3. Leverages Visual Assets
Despite years of no investment, this brand does have ownership of the deep red colour for older consumers. So the Cadbury team have gone bold and made it the full bleed colour for the campaign. This differentiates it strongly from the purple of the core Dairy Milk variant and also taps into latent awareness. Gold type is also used – another classic Bourneville asset.
Using the ‘B’ of the logo imprinted on each square means the visual asset is working right up to the moment of consumption when you pop in your mouth! Competitor Galaxy did with something similar with the curvaceous shape of their blocks, adding distinctiveness versus other block chocolates.
Conclusion
When a business needs growth, hunting for “buried treasure” in the form of neglected and unloved brand assets can be a good solution. As culture changes old ideas can come back into style. Cadbury have shown how to breathe life into an old brand by refreshing what made Bournville famous.
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