PICKS OF THE WEEK

NPD AND MEDIA

WALKERS CELEBRATES CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WITH PUN-TASTIC NPD

WALKERS IS CONTINUING ITS RECENT WAVE OF NPD WITH THE LAUNCH OF A NEW RANGE OF PUN-TASTIC PRODUCTS TO CELEBRATE PEPSICO’S SPONSORSHIP OF THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.

PepsiCo is celebrating its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League with a heavyweight marketing campaign for the Walkers brand. Rolling out from next week, four limited edition Walkers crisps flavours will join the line-up, combining popular football match foods with tongue-in-cheek footy pun names: Steak and Ale Pie-nalty, Hot Shot Hot Dog, Chicken Tackle Masala and Sour Cream and Sweet Chilli Kicker.

An on-pack promo will also roll-out across Walkers MAX and Doritos, offering shoppers over half a million chances to win cash prizes. Promo packs will feature a QR code that will direct consumers straight to a Facebook Messenger chatbot where footballer Paul Pogba will be challenging fans to get ready with Doritos, Walkers and Pepsi MAX for a much more animated and interactive entry experience.

Josephine Taylor, Senior Brand Manager at Pepsico, comments: “With footy fans nationwide deprived of their summer of sport last year, and two British teams in the semi-finals of this year’s UEFA Champions League, everything is still to play for ahead of the final in Istanbul on 29 May, the perfect time to launch our biggest ever sponsorship campaign.

“We know people won’t be able to experience the footy the same way this year, so we’re bringing flavour experiences that only Walkers can do, by taking some of the nation’s favourite match foods and combining them with our Walkers punny banter – delivering a range of irresistibly tasty crisps that will raise a smile.”

WEETABIX OFFERS MONEY- CAN’T-BUY FOOTY PRIZES

A NEW ON-PACK PROMO FROM WEETABIX OFFERS A HOST OF FOOTBALL-RELATED PRIZES AND MONEY-CAN’T-BUY EXPERIENCES AHEAD OF THIS SUMMER’S FOOTBALLING FRENZY.

Weetabix has launched a new on-pack promo offering a host of football prizes and money-can’tbuy experiences with national team players. The promotion is part its long-term partnership with the home nations’ respective football associations and support of grassroots football.

Running from May until October across its portfolio of products, prizes include the ‘ultimate PE training session’ with FA coaches for one winner per nation and friends, signed shirts and tickets to international matches.

Weetabix grew by £12m in 2020, driven by an increase in cereal consumption with more athome breakfast occasions, as well as a spike in online shopping and bigger pack purchases. The new on-pack campaign is expected to capitalise on these gains, helping retailers to drive sales during the summer months, which are traditionally quieter for the category.

Weetabix will work with field sales specialists REL to create depot displays at wholesalers and provide POS to convenience retailers. Following growth in online purchases, Weetabix will also invest in digital grocery marketing to ensure high visibility at all touch points.

Gareth Turner, Head of Brand at Weetabix, said: “We’re thrilled to bring this partnership to life, offering unique prizes and access to some of the biggest British football players across the men’s and women’s game. We’ve heavily invested in the cereal category in the past 12 months, with £14 million spent on marketing, and this promotion will further reinforce Weetabix as part of the fabric of British society.

“Landing ahead of a big summer of football, it will be a great opportunity for retailers to maximise this hook, help the nation to get active and to make the cereal shelves stand-out in 2021.

The new partnership will focus on Weetabix’s strong nutritional credentials, with all Weetabixbranded products classified as non-HFSS, helping to support the health of the nation with a strong start to the day.

The UK’s favourite cereal has also outlined its support for grassroots football as part of the partnership, becoming the lead partner of The Football Associations’ girl’s participation programme, ‘Weetabix Wildcats’, and title partner of the Football Association Wales Trust grassroots girls’ football initiative, ‘Huddle, powered by Weetabix’.

BOX FRESH

Spar has launched two new bag in a box wines in time for the summer – a first for Spar’s own label wine range. They are Spar’s Crisp White and Fresh Rosé, available from tomorrow in a 2.25l easy-to-carry eyecatching box. RSP: £14.99

PEAK MOZZARELLA

Galbani has unveiled a new media campaign for the peak mozzarella season (from early May to the end of July). ‘It’s Got to be Galbani’ will include radio, video on demand and YouTube, and will reach a total of 9.1 million 35 to 54-year-old ABC1s.

NEW PACKAGING POPS

KP Snacks is reinvigorating the Butterkist brand with updated packaging to give its entire portfolio a modernised new look and feel. The design introduces the new tagline, ‘Creating Smiles Since 1914’, highlighting Butterkist’s established heritage.

CARBON NEUTRAL

Lindeman’s is launching a £1m marketing campaign to celebrate becoming one of the first Australian wine brands to have its range certified Carbon Neutral by the Carbon Trust. ‘Step into The Sunshine’ aims to drive awareness of the certification.

RECYCLED SQUEEZY

Hellmann’s has begun moving its full ‘squeezy’ range in the UK to bottles made with 100% post-consumer recycled PET plastic. The move will save approximately 1,480 tonnes of virgin plastic every year once the full range has switched, planned for the end of 2022.

HAVING A LAUGH

Panadol’s new marketing campaign, ‘More Laughs. Less Pain,’ looks to help Brits get their smiles back after a tough year. To encourage chuckles, Panadol is sponsoring comedy streaming platform NextUp to deliver three months of free premium content.