Betty cooks for you too
TBWA Switzerland is promoting the results of the partnership between Betty Bossi and Coop
TBWA Switzerland promotes the fruits of the liaison between Betty Bossi and CoopBy Simone Keller Since this spring, the "cooking teacher" Betty Bossi has been standing at the stove for Coop and conjuring up tasty convenience products on Coop shelves under the label Idee Betty Bossi. The communication of this alliance started in mid-August with a national campaign by TBWA Switzerland.
Time is a precious commodity in today's society. More and more services have to be provided at ever shorter intervals. If people have a little free time, they want to make the most of it and not waste it on unnecessary things. For many, this apparently includes standing at the stove. According to ACNielsen, retail sales per thousand kilograms of sandwiches and ready-made salads alone have risen by 37 percent in the last three years. Sales have even increased by more than half during this time.
The continuous increase in sales of convenience products makes it clear that ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook are central concepts in today's food sector. Precisely because the dishes are prepared by others, the consumer attaches great importance to quality: although the food should be easy and quick to serve, it must also be balanced and of high quality.
The Coop Group in Basel is also aware of these demands. Joie de vivre, convenience, dynamism, freshness and health are central concepts in its own mission statement. According to Coop press spokesman Karl Weisskopf, these are trends that determine shopping and consumption in today's society.
With the new Betty Bossi Idea competence brand, which has been on the shelves since the beginning of June, the retail company aims to take greater account of this customer need. The new range consists of ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products made according to Betty Bossi recipes. The new convenience range was born in November last year when the Coop Group acquired 50 percent of Betty Bossi Verlag AG. The other half of the shares is still held by the Ringier Group, which earned a good 68.1 million Swiss francs from the brand last year.
Originally devised in the marketing department of Unilever's Swiss subsidiary, the fictional cooking teacher Betty Bossi has conquered Swiss kitchens as a recipe author over the past 50 years. Coop now wants to benefit from the deep trust that Mrs. - and later also Mr. - Swiss have placed in the name for generations.
First figures from Betty Bossi idea delight Coop
Although the shelves of Coop stores have been stocked with Idee-Betty Bossi products for almost three months, the Basel-based company has only been making a public appearance with a national advertising campaign since mid-August. The campaign was conceived by TBWA Switzerland, which snatched the seven-figure budget from under the noses of two competitors. Ursula Guhl, TBWA Client Unit Manager, justifies the rather late timing of the launch with the fact that a wide range of products can already be presented today. At the beginning of June, a silent introduction took place, in which only a few new products were presented.
For two weeks now, Swiss moviegoers and TV viewers have been introduced to the new alliance and its products made palatable: In a rapid sequence of scenes, various people appear with a napkin tied around them, which runs through all advertising material as a visual hook.
The claim "Finally eat better. Look forward to it!" and the pack shot break up the commercial. The follow-up campaign, which includes three more TV spots as well as five billboard and seven ad subjects, aims to deepen the message through testimonials. An Italian man writes a letter to his wife in his mind; a young man philosophizes about life; and a couple enumerates their quirks as they move into their first apartment together. All three spots culminate in the protagonists pausing in a passionate, lustful pose with their napkins around their necks, looking forward to their idea Betty Bossi sandwiches, their pizza or their salad.
The core target group is working 20- to 49-year-olds. But seniors are also to be addressed, according to Guhl, because time is also a precious commodity for this generation today.
"Precious" are also the articles of the new line idea Betty Bossi: "They are high-quality products, therefore they are also more expensive," explains the press officer and specifies that this begins already with the selection of the raw materials.
Despite the higher price range, Coop is more than satisfied with the sales figures to date. According to Weisskopf, they are even "excellent". This is despite the fact that the general consumer slump has also caused a noticeable lull for the major distributor in Basel. Even if the overall figures are still above the previous year's value, as the press spokesman assures. Karl Weisskopf is optimistic about the future of the new competence brand; he is convinced that the good price-performance ratio will convince consumers.
Time is a precious commodity in today's society. More and more services have to be provided at ever shorter intervals. If people have a little free time, they want to make the most of it and not waste it on unnecessary things. For many, this apparently includes standing at the stove. According to ACNielsen, retail sales per thousand kilograms of sandwiches and ready-made salads alone have risen by 37 percent in the last three years. Sales have even increased by more than half during this time.
The continuous increase in sales of convenience products makes it clear that ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook are central concepts in today's food sector. Precisely because the dishes are prepared by others, the consumer attaches great importance to quality: although the food should be easy and quick to serve, it must also be balanced and of high quality.
The Coop Group in Basel is also aware of these demands. Joie de vivre, convenience, dynamism, freshness and health are central concepts in its own mission statement. According to Coop press spokesman Karl Weisskopf, these are trends that determine shopping and consumption in today's society.
With the new Betty Bossi Idea competence brand, which has been on the shelves since the beginning of June, the retail company aims to take greater account of this customer need. The new range consists of ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products made according to Betty Bossi recipes. The new convenience range was born in November last year when the Coop Group acquired 50 percent of Betty Bossi Verlag AG. The other half of the shares is still held by the Ringier Group, which earned a good 68.1 million Swiss francs from the brand last year.
Originally devised in the marketing department of Unilever's Swiss subsidiary, the fictional cooking teacher Betty Bossi has conquered Swiss kitchens as a recipe author over the past 50 years. Coop now wants to benefit from the deep trust that Mrs. - and later also Mr. - Swiss have placed in the name for generations.
First figures from Betty Bossi idea delight Coop
Although the shelves of Coop stores have been stocked with Idee-Betty Bossi products for almost three months, the Basel-based company has only been making a public appearance with a national advertising campaign since mid-August. The campaign was conceived by TBWA Switzerland, which snatched the seven-figure budget from under the noses of two competitors. Ursula Guhl, TBWA Client Unit Manager, justifies the rather late timing of the launch with the fact that a wide range of products can already be presented today. At the beginning of June, a silent introduction took place, in which only a few new products were presented.
For two weeks now, Swiss moviegoers and TV viewers have been introduced to the new alliance and its products made palatable: In a rapid sequence of scenes, various people appear with a napkin tied around them, which runs through all advertising material as a visual hook.
The claim "Finally eat better. Look forward to it!" and the pack shot break up the commercial. The follow-up campaign, which includes three more TV spots as well as five billboard and seven ad subjects, aims to deepen the message through testimonials. An Italian man writes a letter to his wife in his mind; a young man philosophizes about life; and a couple enumerates their quirks as they move into their first apartment together. All three spots culminate in the protagonists pausing in a passionate, lustful pose with their napkins around their necks, looking forward to their idea Betty Bossi sandwiches, their pizza or their salad.
The core target group is working 20- to 49-year-olds. But seniors are also to be addressed, according to Guhl, because time is also a precious commodity for this generation today.
"Precious" are also the articles of the new line idea Betty Bossi: "They are high-quality products, therefore they are also more expensive," explains the press officer and specifies that this begins already with the selection of the raw materials.
Despite the higher price range, Coop is more than satisfied with the sales figures to date. According to Weisskopf, they are even "excellent". This is despite the fact that the general consumer slump has also caused a noticeable lull for the major distributor in Basel. Even if the overall figures are still above the previous year's value, as the press spokesman assures. Karl Weisskopf is optimistic about the future of the new competence brand; he is convinced that the good price-performance ratio will convince consumers.
