A Re-Position In The Market For Special K?

After three long years, Kellogg’s have planned to re-position Special K in the market focusing on the health benefits of the cereal brand rather than the perceptions of a dieting snack.

The heart of any business’s success lies in its marketing. Most aspects of a business depend on successful marketing. In this case, brand repositioning of a product. The purpose of repositioning your brand or product in the market is to stay relevant. This will help to avoid the consequences of being overtaken by your competitors or a drop in sales.

It’s January, the month synonymous with the annual health drive. Promises have been made to your partners, to yourself and the gyms are full…for now. If you haven’t already booked your hot yoga session, then you know it’s too late, you’ve already forgot about the ‘New Year, New Me’ thoughts.

However, it’s a prime time for brands to launch marketing campaigns that focus on health benefits of their products and capitalise on the drive for a healthier lifestyle. So it’s no surprise that after three years since their last marketing campaign, Kellogg’s have chosen this time of year to reposition Special K in the market and capitalise on the health trends of the New Year.

Their new Po wering You Campaign Video depicts the busy lifestyle of various women at different stages of their day. One woman is on a morning run and a pregnant woman coming back from the weekly shop.

Of course, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and Kellogg’s understands this, they want to educate their audiences of the benefits of Special K so you can continue to power through the day without needless snacking.

What’s brilliant about the story in the advert is that they have been able to depict a variety of their audience profile as they go through their daily routines. Whether you’re doing the shopping with family, going about your day job, exercising to stay healthy or simply enjoying time with your friends, Kellogg’s have positioned their product to appeal directly to their target audience. The genius of the video comes to life across Social Media as they use the segments of the lifestyles they depict in short, sharp, bite sized videos for their social audience.

Furthermore, the nutritional messaging that pops up throughout the video is easy to digest and simple enough to take in whilst still being engaged with what’s happening behind. The facts around the product are really important to bring substance to their claims and help reposition them as a healthy addition to their food plans rather than just putting their message out there and hoping it sticks. That’s not how you change perceptions.

Will the campaign work?

It’s a repositioning that has been coming for Kellogg’s. Sales of Special K, which is one of Kellogg’s top brands, have slipped 26% since 2012. The campaign provides a perfect platform to re-engage with customers and promote their product to a whole new generation of people following their slight absence from marketing. They have adopted a simple and engaging hashtag (#poweringyou) which will help support the push across Social Media and drive the initial awareness phase of the campaign.

Following this phase will be an educational focus through partnerships with key retailers such as ASDA, Tesco and Argos as well as wellbeing app ‘MyFitnessPal’ and the popular loyalty scheme, Nectar. They plan to provide useful tools to help stay healthy, track and measure daily food intake, not diet.

The key to their communications is that Special K is a healthy source of food, not a dieting option. They have identified that modern women don’t trust a ‘diet brand’, and why would they after years of fad diets that don’t work. It’s clear that a healthier lifestyle is more important now than quick and potentially harmful gains. And Kellogg’s say the nutrients in Special K form an essential make up for women’s well-being.

For me, this campaign ticks all the right boxes to re-engage with their target audience, position the brand in a more positive manner and deliver Audience Delight. The timing of the campaign is delivered at the right moment, with the right message and supported with the right amount of scientific backing to provide a credible platform to appeal to consumers.