MAINLAND MASTERBRAND
BRINGING NEW ZEALAND’S MOST LOVED CHEESE BRAND BACK TO ITS ROOTS
Mainland, one of New Zealand’s leading purveyors of cheese, butter, and nostalgia. Mainland is known for great tasting cheddar and award winning butter, alongside some specialty cheeses. Most importantly, it has a place in Kiwi hears thanks to it’s old school, heartwarming, witty advertising.
The brand team in 2019 faced a challenge thanks to declining sales, and a rapidly eroding brand equity not designed to compete with new European entrants to the market (Castello and Lurpak) who were bringing annoyingly delicious cheese and butter to the NZ market.
We needed to win back the kiwi faithful.
Business
Fonterra Brands New Zealand Ltd.
Brand
Mainland
Agencies
Colenso BBDO
Mediacom New Zealand
THE CHALLENGE
DECLINING SALES IN 1KG, AND OTHER BLOCK CHEESE
NEGATIVE PRICE SENTIMENT ACROSS ALL SKU’S
ERODING BRAND VALUE IN ‘SPECIALTY’ CHEESE MARKET
MONTH ON MONTH DECREASE IN “BRAND I LOVE” METRICS
To sum it up, Mainland was facing an erosion of value in brand equity, and was losing the price-value battle in the minds of consumers. Butter occasionally rose above $9 per 500g, and a 1kg block of Tasty cost upwards of $17. Families were regularly turning to competitors, because they offered more affordable or more convenient options.
We were also losing in specialty cheese, Mainland has made Brie’s, Camemberts, Havarti’s and more for decades, however new European products were surprising Kiwi consumers - they were admittedly very good cheeses.
At the time Mainland was perceived as a category leader, but not converting at the point of sale, it’s tag line was “It’s Good To Try New Things”. All eyes were on us, we were telling them to explore.
THE INSIGHT
After conducting thorough research addressing the trust and love for the Mainland brand, we saw statements like “worth it” and “brand I trust” slipping dramatically, but we also found that kiwis were still telling us they wanted to purchase New Zealand made products - which didn’t line up with our sales data in the slightest.
In the meantime, the brand tag line was “It’s good to try new things” - designed to drive uptake of occasion based products.
Things weren’t adding up.
So we looked at some research about the Kiwi mentality, and this very clever piece of research by TRA boosted some of our thinking.
Note: this research has since been updated, latest 2023.
WHAT WE KNEW ABOUT THE CONSUMER
For Kiwi’s earned success means living your values, not being boastful of what you have.
Connecting with what you bring to the community is key.
They want to connect with good people.
Our cultural truth.
Mainland was no longer seen as an everyday purchase due to the price-value equivalence.
Compared to cheaper, more convenient options, we were losing.
And “trying new things” felt indistinctive.
Our perception.
“New Zealanders feel a great responsibility for the environment in which they live.
At school you are taught this with a great sense of nostalgia.
An intergenerational responsibility.
A shared value.
We needed to bring Mainland back to it’s roots, and reconnect with Kiwi’s on an emotional level.
Mainland is actually named after a place, in the centre of the South Island, somewhere near Dunedin, but nowhere near Auckland. This region holds warm rural values, adopts a light stoicism, and feels a fierce commitment to nature and the community. This is know your neighbors neighbors territory, grab a beer at the rugby club, welly’s to high school graduation territory.
GOING BACK TO “GOOD THINGS TAKE TIME”
Going back to this brand platform allowed for a few things to happen.
The Mainland brand, when it first started advertising, founded a platform “Good things take time” - it referred to the fact that the cheese takes 18 months to make, but also introduced two characters to the nation - the father figures and cheesemakers, guardians of Mainland.
We needed to take it back to the old days, but introduce the cheesemakers to a whole new generation.
CONNECTION TO PLACE
New Zealanders love to support local. And this was an opportunity to remind them that Mainland is in fact a place, not just an expensive block of very, very delicious cheddar.
TAP INTO A PRODUCT TRUTH
Mainland cheese literally takes a long time to make, in some instances, up to 36 months. In doing this, we evoked a sense of quality, and a bit of that intergenerational warmth.
PRICE-VALUE ATTRIBUTION
Good things take time ensured people understood why Mainland was worth it. Dedication to craft and connection to country helped Mainland build trust.