Cracking commercial, Gromit!
as an accompaniment to cheese. But producers are now trying to
attract new consumers, not only through diversifying their product
offering but also through raising the profile of a product which is
somewhat taken for granted.
This is the aim behind a new advertising campaign for one of the UK's best-known cracker brands, Jacob's. Many brands are endorsed by celebrities to help boost sales, and Jacob's is no different in this regard - indeed, it has managed to win the backing of double Oscar winners and celebrity cracker-eaters, Wallace and Gromit.
In keeping with the celebrity status of its stars, the campaign will be the most expensive ever launched by Jacob's, costing more than £2 million. It will also be the first time in two years that the brand has been advertised on UK TV.
The adverts, which will run from February to August, feature a brand new invention built by Wallace that automatically lays various toppings onto Jacob's Crackers. The aim is to encourage consumers to become more experimental with their toppings - although cheese is likely to remain a firm favourite.Wallace and Gromit, created by the Aardman animation studio, are being used to promote the entire range of Jacob's crackers, which includes nine different varieties. The campaign as a whole will cost Jacob's more than £4 million.
The adverts are timed to coincide with a new marketing promotion, offering consumers a chance to win a trip to New York by collecting on-pack tokens. Running for six months across supermarkets, independent retailers, convenience stores and forecourts in the UK, the on-pack promotion is forecast to deliver a 5-6 per cent uplift in sales across the Jacob's Crackers portfolio.
Nathan King, senior brand manage for the cracker range, said that the aim was to persuade consumers to step up their frequency of purchase by "dispelling the myth that crackers can only be eaten with cheese at Christmas, and demonstrating that they can be teamed with a range of toppings, from cream cheese and parma am to stilton and radish.
"The advertisement with Wallace and Gromit is designed to keep Crackers top of mind and increase the brand's appeal via a fun, relevant and highly motivating proposition."
Jacob's Crackers portfolio has been extended beyond the traditional Cream Crackers to include variants such as Flavour Selection, Biscuits for Cheese, Choicegrain, Water Biscuits, Cornish Wafer, Mediterranean Selection, Herbs & Spice and Olive Oil & Oregano. The brand range is said to be worth £33 million, and Danone-owned Jacob's said that was growing slightly ahead of the UK market as a whole at 5.0 per cent per annum, compared to 4.7 per cent. The Flavour Range has shown year-on-year value growth of 7.1 per cent, the company said, citing IRI data.
