The Sauce – 10/01/24

Welcome to ‘The Sauce’ – Your weekly dollop of marketing news.

New Year’s resolution to keep up to date with the latest marketing campaigns and industry news? You’re in the right place.

This week’s edition features The Gym Group’s January campaign, Amazon Prime’s latest creative, and an in-depth dive into supermarkets’ own-brands thriving over the festive period.

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Get Going with The Gym Group

The Gym Group has launched their January campaign to attract new customers. (If you haven’t heard of The Gym Group, it’s pretty self-explanatory…. they’re a group of gyms across the UK!)

The video ad takes the mickey out of the myriad ways people try to keep fit outside of a traditional gym, from leg pressing the sofa (while a long-suffering housemate tries to eat breakfast), to running up and down the stairs, and lunging while carrying the weekly food shop.

The timely campaign comes as people around the country desperately try to shift those excess Christmas pounds and stick to ambitious new year’s resolutions, and gyms across the country experience an influx of new members.

We always see a flood of fitness-inspired ads at this time of year as gyms, PTs and fitness influencers aim to take advantage of the January rush. Stats* show that 12% of all gym sign-ups happen in January, and although 50% will cancel by the end of the month, 22% of these new starters will continue until October.

With stats like these, it’s clearly the perfect time for fitness-advertising, but how can you stand out in such a crowded market?

Ashleigh Morris, Content and Communications Lead at Awesomesauce Marketing, said, “For any health or fitness related business, it would be crazy not to advertise in January to capitalise on a captive audience. But it’s crucial to cut through the noise in order to generate return on investment. The Gym Group ad stands out by using humour to make their creative memorable – most of us can relate to some of these home exercise techniques from lockdown.

“And that’s the other point that stands out about these ads. Many people haven’t returned to gyms post-lockdown so the campaign cleverly taps into people’s need for time to themselves, while highlighting their offering and competitive price point.”

Repeating your usual marketing activity can start to have less impact in a more saturated, competitive and price-led market – how could you use content to stand out from the crowd in 2024? Drop us a message to find out how we could help!

*stats courtesy of virtuagym

It’s crucial to cut through the noise in order to generate return on investment.

Amazon’s Double Shot Dad

Amazon Prime’s latest ad campaign features two new creative executions, ‘Double Shot Dad’ and ‘Concrete Jungle’, as part of its global platform ‘It’s on Prime’.

‘Double Shot Dad’ shows a tired dad looking after his baby while watching Amazon Prime, then being inspired to tackle his tiredness by ordering a coffee machine and beans, while ‘Concrete Jungle’ features a young woman’s despair as she moves into her new city apartment – before finding inspiration on Prime and transforming her space into a serene, green haven. The videos will be supported by paid social, out-of-home and digital display.

Like The Gym Group ad these creatives tap into people’s everyday experiences – ‘Double Shot Dad’ could have been written for or by our Account and Strategy Director James who is dad to two young children!

The videos show that Amazon understands its target audience and the challenges they face, while also highlighting Prime’s range of services, from streaming (and inspiration) to shopping and making these dreams a reality.

We know we talk about it a lot but understanding your target audience really is key! We’re predicting companies will need to invest in this more than ever to maximise the probability of successful campaigns and growth in 2024 in an increasingly saturated market.

Own-Brands Drive Supermarket Success

Own-brand premium products drove significant success for Aldi and Lidl over the Christmas period. Both businesses reported record-breaking sales periods over the festive season, as they continue to encroach into a space once dominated by the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons. (Aldi actually overtook Morrisons in 2022 to become the fourth largest UK supermarket for the first time*).

Lidl credited its success to its own-brand luxury range. It had a 12% increase in sales across the period, and an 11% increase in sales of its own-brand premium products. Key highlights were sales of its Montaudon Champagne Brut doubling, and Prosecco sales increasing by an impressive 45%.

Aldi saw growth of 8% for the four-week period leading up to Christmas, with its ‘Specially Selected wagyu rib joint’ one of its top-sellers. Chief Executive Giles Hurley attributed the business’s success to its pricing strategy, and said they will continue to cut prices in 2024, to ensure customers always save money with Aldi.

As inflation and the cost of living continue to rise, the success of Aldi and Lidl proves the benefits of a robust marketing strategy – both businesses have looked at what customers want, and how they can deliver that at a competitive price point.

James Keith, Account and Strategy Director at Awesomesauce Marketing, said, “Aldi and Lidl have done their research. They know that they need to keep prices low in the current market, but have understood that customers still value quality, which is why their premium ranges performed so well.

“Many retailers focus on branded-products but the investment in the right own-brand products pays off in terms of long-term profit margin. We’re seeing some of our B2B clients investing heavily in product development and campaigns around their own-brand products as they aim to deliver value for their customers and also increase profitability.

“The final piece to the puzzle has been advertising investment, with both companies increasing spend to land their message. Their recent successes should provide an important lesson to the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets who have dominated the market in the UK for nearly 20 years but now need to prove they can adapt to the changing market and consumer habits.”

Are own-brand product ranges accounting for a significant share of your marketing spend in 2024?

*Data from research firm Kantar

We’re seeing some of our B2B clients investing heavily in product development and campaigns around their own-brand products…

You can check out our latest dollop of marketing news next week. If you can’t wait that long for your latest sauce fix, you can read our previous posts here.

Want to find out more about what we do and how we can help your business?

Contact our Account & Strategy Director James Keith here >>> james@awesomesaucemarketing.co.uk.