Advertising Down Under 🐨

Praise the ice-cream Gods they have finally done it — Golden Gaytime in a 1.25L tub! Sweet life is complete. No longer are we restricted to a single portion stick of heavenly goodness. The wooden paddle pop stick days are over and it’s time to grab your spoon. The perfect combination of Street’s Gaytime biscuit crumbs and vanilla ice-cream in a tub (and it’s yours for only $6.99 at all participating retailers!). The Aussie icon ice-cream flavor was an alleged result of a Facebook Group ‘Golden Gaytime Ice-cream Tub Project’. Thank goodness for social media movements -

While I was eating from my tub of Golden Gaytime ice-cream, I started thinking about other local marketing for consumer products. Take the recent McDonald’s advertising for ‘Maccas — It’s What Australia Ordered’. This campaign largely promotes the introduction of McCafe as an Australian idea. The animated commercial takes the viewer through a time loop of when the brand first arrived in Australia and the various changes which have occurred in the company. The rustic colours of the commercial reflect the outback landscape. And the relaxed commentary of the narrator is also of Australian nature. When viewing the advertisement, you can see a petrol station scene that features a ‘servo’ sign on the station. Other local colloquialisms include buggie smugglers (cringe), beetroot on burgers, steak in salads and wraps, and perhaps the most interesting is the acceptance of ‘Macca’s’ — a rechristening of the brand name. This large dominating food empire has accepted Aussie slang! In fact ‘Macca’s’ is the next most popular jargon after ‘footy’ according to a Reuters survey.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVZy1FIua2M[/embed]

This localised branding is a recurring concept. Even earlier this year various memes that emerged from Cadbury’s Vegemite chocolate block. Taking a quintessential Australian icon and placing it within chocolate was a unique, alternative and not so appetising idea. The product generated wide interest and sparked a series of various chocolate bars on social media. VB chocolate was one of my favourites!

Streets, McDonalds and Cadbury have made marketing as well as product changes to serve the wants of the Australian population. Changes such as McCafe have occurred on a large scale. Through understanding the needs of their customers, introductions such as Golden Gaytime ice-cream in a tub and McCafes developed. Several branding strategies have been employed to make consumers feel patriotic of their national symbols. These products are relatable and familiar to us as Aussies. Large global brands are eager to be accepted as part of the norm and viewed as a common household name. Through immersing in local cultural beliefs and ideas this goal is possible. Yet how exactly does Vegemite chocolate increase long term profit for Cadbury? Does this locally targeted marketing work?

In a highly competitive market, big businesses continually have to promote and maintain customer loyalty to their brands. McDonald and Meldrum highlights how a consumer’s purchase decision is largely influenced by factors such as culture, social context and values. The beliefs and attitudes reflected within the Australian society play a significant part in food industry. The numerous Australian icons present in the ‘Maccas — It’s What Australia Ordered’ commercial are an example of McDonalds identifying cultural norms. He further argues that successful brands have a unique identity which consumers are able to recognise. This identity is maintained by continuous investment within the brand. Brands do not sell on reputation alone.

McDonald’s outlets have reported their worst sales results for over ten years. Data from the Australia Food Market recorded that McDonald revenue had declined by 7.3% within the Asia Pacific area. Following these statistics, the global food chain has begun to target the United States, Australia, Japan and Germany to improve sales. The introduction of McCafe’s, healthier meal options, ‘create your taste’, and home delivery services within Australia are strategies to help reboot the brand. McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook stated that, “Australia is in the early stages of turning around its business through a multifaceted approach to enhance brand appeal for consumers”.

One of these approaches centers on involving the consumer at a deeper level; an increasing trend across various commercial sectors. Businesses are incorporating customer interests, wants and ideas into product development, for example the recent McDonalds ‘Create Your Taste’ campaign. This somewhat out of character campaign, allows customers to create their own burgers from scratch. Yet many of us are questioning the sustainability of this campaign for a traditionally cheap and fast-food chain.

On a similar note, seemingly consumer generated ideas for products are often deeper thought-out initiatives. Jesse McElroy started the Facebook campaign for Golden Gaytime in a tub. Interestingly, McElroy is in the advertising business and has had success with other products such as Kit Kat advertising. Despite refusing any association with Streets, McElroy’s involvement does beg the question was the campaign just a coincidence? While fan bases or consumer groups sit at the heart of product success — it is in the hands of the businesses to make decisions based on product development and implementation.

Time will tell if the McDonalds revamp will prove successful. At this stage I think that their “multifaceted approach” is attempting too many complex ideas at once. I find the idea of different marketing campaigns, formats and styles too confusing to associate with the one brand. Any way, back to my ice-cream that’s enough pondering for tonight!