One might think that a decline in the heavy use of yellow fats by UK consumers and the fact that only 40% of them consider butter a 'natural' food, according to Mintel, would be to the benefit of Unilever spread brand I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.
Indeed, fellow Unilever spreads Flora and Bertolli, both of which are positioned as healthier, natural products, have grown their value by 8% and 18.4% since 2006, respectively, according to Mintel. The value of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, however, has fallen by 6.7%.
When the brand was launched in the UK in 1991, its bold packaging and quirky positioning helped it to stand out from existing yellow fat products filling supermarket fridges.
The left-field brand achieved further standout in 2006 with the first UK TV ad to feature rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, appearing with impressionist Jon Culshaw, who acted as his double.
While the brand distinguished itself, it has done little to stay up to speed with modern consumer needs. Quirkiness does not appear to be enough in a world of health-conscious consumers.
What can the brand do to stop its market share melting away? We asked Gareth Helm, marketing consultant at Brandchat.co.uk and recently appointed marketing director at Mars, who has worked on Gold-en Churn, and Richard Huntington, director of strategy at ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, which handles General Mills' business, to give us their views.
Gareth Helm incoming marketing director, Mars
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter was a huge success in the past. I remember the breath of fresh air it brought into a dull category, leading to a host of imitators.
Sadly, that is where the brand has stayed. It hasn't moved forward, and the competition has caught up with it and undermined its value equation. Now quality + price + brand = 'I can't believe it's worth that'.
If this wasn't enough, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter now also fights the trend of natural : 'I can't believe this is natural' springs to mind. It's trapped, and is seemingly having to turn to heavy discounting. Its best solution is to fix the value equation, enhancing the quality and brand perception.
Remedy
- Be a natural alternative to butter.
- Stay focused on the 'better than butter' proposition, but improve the ingredients to improve the perception of quality.
- Be brave again. Flex the brand archi-tecture, do something different and become famous once more. It might just be margarine, but funnily enough, a margarine factory is exactly the right technology to produce pretty much any chilled spread.
- Let's involve consumers, as Walkers has done with its 'Do us a flavour' activity, to produce something special. We may end up with 'I can't believe it's not chocolate' as a short-term solution, but it will get the brand back on the radar.
- Create a fresh conversation with the consumer. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter is bigger than margarine, and could engage well using social media. Let's see a more engaging and playful brand that is more akin to its character in the 90s.
Richard Huntington director of strategy, Saatchi & Saatchi
For my money, there are three key ingredients for success in today's brandscape. Product performance is absolutely paramount in a way that it hasn't been in the past; consumers simply won't put up with sub-par products, no matter how engaging your communications.
A bloody good brand idea that identifies the things real people care about, rather than desperately trying to interest them in what the brand owner likes, seems pretty important too.
However, the underpinning of all this needs to be the brand's authenticity: its back-story and the idea that it exists to make life a bit better.
These days consumers can sniff out a lack of authenticity like that chap in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang could find hidden children. That's my issue with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. It may not be butter, but what exactly is it and why does it exist?
The truth is that a brand that suggests we no longer need to compromise between taste and health has ended up doing just that.
If I want the taste of butter, I'll damn well eat butter, and if I want active health, then I'll eat a healthy spread with all those Omega 3s and what-not in them, from a brand with a serious, rather than novelty, name.
Remedy
- Immediately review the dreary advertising approach that to me simply seems to remind us that it's like butter, but not nearly as good. I can tell the difference between A-list celebrities and B-list look-a-likes.
- Accept the error of the novelty brand name and concede that it may be time to relaunch this brand properly. In Australia it is now called Flora Buttery Taste, a step in the right direction.