New Zealand’s small appliance market is very competitive, so when SSM, the company behind leading heating brand Goldair, wanted to launch their new Goldair kitchenware range, they needed a concept that would give them the biggest bang for their buck with both their trade audience and consumers.
There was also the challenge of launching 25 products at once – a unique occurrence in the market. Brands typically only launch a couple of products each season.
The solution:
Convergence developed an innovative marketing communications campaign that not only helped to generate interest in the launch but also reinforced a rejuvenated brand image. The campaign, entitled ‘Goldair moves into the kitchen’, was created and executed in just six weeks.
To ensure the product launch stood out from the rest, Convergence came up with the idea of a series of breakfast events and then organised them to occur in main centres nationwide. Retail store staff were invited along to a ‘cooking competition’, hosted by corporate entertainers the Outwits, which made use of Goldair’s kitchen appliances. Participants then tried out the new appliances first hand, all the while competing against the clock to create a breakfast masterpiece.
Fortunately no-one was forced to eat what they had created – a proper breakfast followed the competition and Goldair then gave a short presentation on the range.
The events drew good crowds, with many commenting it was one of the best launches they’d attended. Some floor staff even said they were coming along on the recommendation of staff from other branches who had already been.
As part of the campaign Convergence also negotiated promotions in top women’s magazines, reaching more than 1.6 million readers. Six months afterwards, the products highlighted in these promotions all but sold out – something that was achieved in the absence of any above the line advertising.
Due to the PR campaign launched in Oct we have had the opportunity to pitch our products to over 16 new retail clients which we did not sell into before the press campaign. As a direct consequence of the PR launch we have been accepted in 3 of the 5 top retailers in NZ and over 20 medium size retailers. More importantly the PR campaign has changed the perception of the brand in key retailers with a 180 degree turn in the majority of the retailers that have accepted our products. Before the launch we had resistance to the brand but after we were able to converse with these clients due to the clear message presented to them.
– Dave Andrew, SSM Marketing Manager.