Kelloggs Special K Drop a Jean Size Challenge

Kellogg's Special K - Drop A Jean Size Challenge

Effie Worldwide

Bronze, Global, Effie Awards 2008

Kellogg's Special K – Drop A Jean Size Challenge

Category: Global

Client: Kellog Co.

Primary Agency: JWT

Media Agency: MindShare

Contributing Agencies: Cheetham Bell JWT, K Agency

STRATEGIC CHALLENGE

The challenge was to move Special K 'beyond the breakfast bowl' and create a whole new world of believers in Special K's

slimming promise with one, joined up, international idea.

Special K is iconic in the established markets. A breakfast cereal for slimmers with a plethora of memorable attributes

springing to mind: the signature 'K', tape measures and little red bikinis, toned, tanned girls in gorgeous shape. A global

success story for Kellogg, sold in 40+ markets, and with a value worth $818m in 2004 and ambitious plans to achieve $2bn

superbrand status by 2010.

In 2004, growth in 'Shape Management' was explosive; the sector was worth in excess of $87bn globally (Source: Datamonitor

2003). Notable were the meteoric rise of low carbohydrate diets like Atkins, the reinvigoration of established players like

Slimfast, plus the onslaught of new snack bars, cereals and yoghurts like Nestle Fitness and Danone's Vitalinea, all claiming to

be slimming nirvana. Against this competitively pushy backdrop, and with such ambitious growth targets, Special K could not

just sit on its strategic laurels and simply assume a larger piece of the shape management pie. Kellogg needed a killer idea for

Special K that would boost its equity in the established markets and cement its credibility in the younger ones.

Firstly, in order to bolster its standing as a credible shape management player, the brand would need to move beyond the

breakfast table. As a morning cereal, Special K had a limited usage window and was perceived as a diet brand you had to plan

your diet around with a slimming promise heavily caveated by the old adage 'use as part of a calorie-controlled diet'. Up

against such powerful new weight loss competition, we needed to present the brand as an easy, all-in-one solution with a

definitive promise of weight loss; a major catalyst in a modern girl's slimming repertoire.

Many markets were also increasingly dependent on summer sales during the brand's traditional bikini challenge. Positioned as

Title: Kellogg's Special K - Drop A Jean Size Challenge

Source: Effie Worldwide

Issue: Bronze, Global, Effie Awards 2008

Downloaded from warc.com

2

a summer slimming solution, it therefore lacked year round relevance (a fact particularly pertinent to France and Spain) and an

idea was required to support other periods.

Furthermore, Special K was losing touch with modern women by presenting idealized, overly fantasist images of beach babes

in front of white, clapperboard houses in scanty bikinis as role models. Body image trends were moving towards 'being in the

best shape you can be in' and celebrating real women with bulges and post-natal tummy rolls in all their diversity. If a bikini

was too aspirational, what other image triggers could we use to draw real women to achieve their own personal slimming goals

with Special K?

The 2004 communications challenge was to super-charge the brand's equity with a unique slimming promise that was both

resonant and achievable for more, real women across the world; that took Special K usage beyond breakfast and positioned it

as a serious shape management ally.

Under one global thought, the new campaign would rally cohorts of new shape managers by:

l Presenting a brand with a definitive weight loss mantra which women could adopt hassle-free; a powerful Special K short

hand amidst ever-increasing dieting choice.

l Promising achievable results and therefore real, functional credibility.

l Giving the brand a new voice more in touch with the realities of modern female body perception and real shape

management struggles.

l Creating a brand with greater everyday relevance and a presence at times of the year that matter most to weight

conscious women – not just for breakfast or summertime.

l Building up a strong call to action around the idea, not just with consumers, but also key trade customers to rally

promotional efforts in-store.

Special K now sought to shape up its 'shaping up' message: to turn brand equity – whether strong or latent – into consumer

action (and $m bills!).

OBJECTIVES

The overriding commercial goal for the new Special K communications idea was to make a significant contribution towards the

brand's 2010 global $2bn NSV target.

Local markets had varied, and very specific, objectives:

UK

'Drop a Jean Size' actually broke in the UK in January 2004, so objectives from January 2005-January 2007 were to keep

building on the positive impact of the original 2004 campaign:

l To increase awareness and uptake of the 2004 'DAJS' challenge (from 66% and 2.1m adults).

l Rally increasing 'off-shelf' display and buzz in the trade to support the new challenge.


3

l Boost household penetration from 11.3% in the period January-February 2004.

l Trigger an increase in RTEC value share from 11% in 2004.

l Play a financially significant role in boosting Special K total year value – demonstrable ROI.

France

As described, Special K was experiencing a sharp summer sales spike in France and was hungry to exploit both breakfast

cereal and shape management growth. Objectives were first set in 2004 to:

l Create a second strong sales period beyond the summertime bikini challenge ('Pari Minceur').

l Increase promotional volume in the trade (+20 tonnes in Q1 '05 and +120 tonnes in Q1 '06).

l Help continue to boost household penetration in France from 14% in Q4 2004.

l As a growing brand, to boost Q1 value share of market year on year from 14.8% in 2004.

l Build affinity between the brand and French shape managers by creating a diet plan that involves them beyond classic

TV advertising.

Mexico

Special K in Mexico was undergoing a heavy competitive onslaught from new slimming brands such as Nestle Fitness,

Vitalinea from Danone and Siluet. Aims for June-September 2005 were to:

l Raise 'Top of Mind' awareness for Special K from 0% (yes, zero) and create brand noise.

l Stimulate +6% volume sales growth June – September 2005 versus the same period 2004.

l To exceed 8% value share of market in summer 2005 over the same period 2004.

l Specifically, to arrest Fitness market share growth in the RTEC category.

Spain

Spain only recently adopted 'DAJS' in January 2007 with the aim, like France, to create a second strong sale period for

Special K beyond summer and against tough local regulatory restrictions:

l The goal was to drive penetration by 1p.p. (or approximately 142,000 new Spanish households buying Special K) in Jan-

March '07 versus the same quarter '06.

l This would equate to a target of +1681 tons volume sold in Jan-Mar 2007 versus Jan-Mar 2006.

l All against a backdrop of not being able to make any concrete weight loss claims. Communications would instead need to

create impact while only intimating weight loss results.

THE BIG IDEA


4

“Make getting back into your favourite jeans your resolution with the Special K 2-week challenge.”

We needed a global strategic idea that could travel across a spectrum of markets. We built from a combination of global

insights that could be dialled up, or down, depending on the specific market.

A Unique Slimming Promise

Extensive research at Loughborough University in the UK in 1999 had proven that if people ate Special K as normal for

breakfast and also replaced one of their other 2 daily meals with another bowl of Special K they could lose up to 3kg (6lb) in

weight, or 2cm (1”) of fat from their bust, waist or hips if the programme was consistently maintained over a period of two

weeks. This was a strong, clear promise, backed up by solid scientific support with no caveats. It was the slimming promise

Special K needed: a unique insight into the efficacy of the product, offering real, numerical results.

Real Motivation

We had the promise, but what was the motivation? Bikinis bared too many home truths for the average woman about her

imperfections. So if bikinis were out, Special K now required a universal, new 'signal garment'. That garment we discovered

(with the exception of saris in India) is jeans. Women live in their jeans day in, day out. Any woman who has spent years trying

to find the perfect-fitting pair knows how precious they are and that they are the acid test for weight gain. So if post-feast 'love

handles' stop you doing up that top button, it's a body image disaster.

Success Easily Measured

The Loughborough work had unearthed a potentially potent promise: 2 bowls, 2 meals, 2 weeks = 3kg/2cm. But how did the

promised weight loss equate? Special K is about looking and feeling good about in the shape you're in, a brand heritage

based on body measurement (c.f. the tape measure mnemonic), not absolute weight loss (a healthy woman can still weigh a

lot and look fantastic). As luck would have it, 2cm conveniently equals one jean size. Our interpretation of the scientific

research therefore turned the perfect jeans into the perfect measuring device; an easy way of measuring weight loss (where

regulations permitted).

A Realistic Challenge

Women tend to look on any weight loss goal, however enticing, as an insurmountable chore. We needed proof that the weight

loss in question was easily achievable. The idea of taking a 2-week challenge had originally been road tested by the All Bran

brand in Mexico. And here it seemed an ideal way to provoke vital consumer action by saying, “It's possible! Try it for

yourself!” 2 weeks was a quick, definitive period of time to follow the '2 bowls' regime (that we could make look pleasurable

with the variety of Special K flavours and innovations like snack bars). A call rallying mass numbers of women to action would

also offer a sense of 'in it together' and 'real' women achieving real results would become the reason to believe.

A Seasonal Window

Insight work showed that the post-Christmas holiday period (or generic post-holiday feasts in the Far East) was a key window

across the globe for women resolving to shift the flab gained from an excess of turkey, rich puddings and alcohol. New Year is

a time when a real woman freely admits she has 'let herself go' and the extra pounds need zapping. It's a time for new

resolutions, a kickstart to the slimming year and, importantly, to the new Kellogg financial year. Our simple slimming promise


5

was therefore to get back into your favourite jeans with the Special K 2-week challenge – a brand cry that has now been

adopted and adapted creatively across the world.

BRINGING THE IDEA TO LIFE

The original creative expression pieced together the strategic jigsaw under the sassy call to action: “Drop A Jean Size with the

Special K 2-Week Challenge”.

In terms of commonality of approach across the globe, copy humorously dramatizes the moment of truth where a woman finds

difficulty fitting her jeans after her Christmas, or holiday, excesses. We then present her with an easy process for getting back

into them: 2 bowls for 2 meals for 2 weeks.

Each of the Kellogg markets that has subsequently used the 'Drop a Jean Size' premise has developed the idea uniquely and

distinctively to reflect its own cultural nuance and imperatives.

UK: In the UK's TV creative, which has now run four New Years running, we voyeuristically see through the windows of

women of all shapes trying to pull on their jeans with objects like coat-hangers to the tune of Blondie's 'One way or another'.

The idea is 'the things you don't have to do to get into your jeans' if you take the 'Drop a Jean Size' challenge and shows the

struggle and triumph of real (35+) women getting results. The campaign has been supported by on line activity, supermarket

posters, packaging and trade support. Please note Kellogg Crunchy Nut was also featured in the UK TV commercials for trade

reasons.

France: The target for Special K in France is younger and more aspirational than the traditional pear-shaped consumer of the

UK. The 'Lucie' series of TV commercials that has now run for 3 years features a funky girl who, having partied through the

holidays, finds her jeans popping at the waistline. She adopts the Special K 'Après Fêtes Programme'*1 and, after three

executions is able to say “Au revoir les excès, bonjour la ligne!”*2 While there is no direct call to 'Drop a Jean Size', France has

adopted the Programme 2/2/2 idea as a simple mnemonic for the challenge and taken the idea on-line with a cartoon coach

called Paolo the Brazilian and developed a challenge hotline.

Mexico: Summertime was chosen instead of post-holidays in Mexico as a time when jeans come into their own in the Mexican

fashion stakes to be worn with pretty tops that show off a woman's body to its best. Mexico developed the 'Adriana' series of 4

TV commercials in 2005 plotting the progress of a young, glamorous housewife who, jealous of sexy babes on the street

looking hot in jeans, craves her husband's attentions. The campaign was also followed up in print, in-store and on line.


6

Spain: When, in 2007, Spain adopted the core challenge idea to target (in this instance, picture perfect) women in their

twenties, and adapted the original UK 'One way or another' copy, it was restricted from making any numerical claim about

weight loss, or to say explicitly, 'Drop a Jean Size'. That meant that showing a girl happily setting off for the day as the resolve

at the end of the commercial was the only intimation of success Kellogg could make for Special K.

Beyond the four markets we illustrate here, other markets also took idiosyncratic approaches. Perhaps most worthy of note is

the TV copy that ran in emerging market India where women were invited to 'Drop a Sari Size' in order to dazzle on-lookers,

and husbands alike, at social occasions.

Communications Touch Points

Additional Marketing Components: Challenge hotline and price changes.

Reach:

Europe:

l UK, Spain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Ireland

Africa & the Middle East:

l South Africa

Asia Pacific:

l India (Drop a Sari Size), Japan

Latin America & the Caribbean:

l Mexico, Venezuela

North America:

l USA

The 4 markets selected represent a diverse set of marketing challenges for Special K:


7

UK: Special K was launched in the UK in 1958. At $143m, Special K's value was second only to the USA in 2004. In a well-

established breakfast cereal sector the market challenge was to squeeze even greater value from a well-established brand at

a competitively intense time.

France: A younger market for Special K, where the brand has only competed since 1992. In 2004, the brand was helping

drive the nascent breakfast cereal category, and contributed in excess of 50% of Kellogg France's total sales. The challenge

was to continue driving growth of this precious asset.

Mexico: The largest, and most important, market in sales terms for Special K in Latin America at circa $60m annual net sales

value (NSV). In 2004, sales were under heavy impact from a host of hot, new competitive threats, notably Nestlé Fitness, in

the Mexican Shape Management category.

Spain: Like France, Spain is a youthful market for Special K having launched in 1994. This final market has not been chosen

for its absolute size but as an example of outstanding campaign success in the face of extreme local regulatory pressures.

Total Media Expenditure

RESULTS

In 2007, Special K global sales are predicted to reach $1.5bn (Source: Kellogg) – on track to reach the ambitious $2bn set for

the brand by 2010. While the 'Drop a Jean Size' idea cannot lay claim to all that success, it has undoubtedly played a strong

role in boosting Special K's fortunes around the world and provided a vital “ski jump” in terms of January and new financial

year sales for Kellogg.

UK: The goal in January 2005 was to build on the success of the inaugural 'Drop a Jean Size' campaign of New Year 2004.

The campaign ran at peak performance in 2005 and 2006 and will make a further comeback in 2008 thanks to its strength of

impact and continued financial return:

l Prompted awareness of the 'DAJS' campaign rose from 29.4m, or 66% of the UK adult population, in 2004 to a staggering

36m, or 8 out of 10 people, in 2005 (Source: TNS Omnimas).

l The initial 'Drop a Jean Size' challenge attracted 2.1m UK participants in 2004 (0.7m more than the previous Special K

diet challenge in 2003). This grew to a substantial 2.8m slimmers taking part in 2005 and 2006; 2.3m in 2007 (Source:

TNS Omnimas).

l The New Year buzz around the campaign also extended into the trade. UK multiple grocers have consistently backed the

Challenge and off-shelf display levels rose from 58% in 2005 to 71% in 2006 – the strongest trade execution for Special


8

K in 3 years (Source: IRI, 1 w/e 7th January 2006). It continues to be one of the biggest events in the UK RTEC calendar.

l Special K household penetration rose from 11.3% in Jan-Feb 2004 to 12.4% to Jan-Feb 2005, and while this dropped

back to 10.8% & 10.9% respectively in 2006 & 2007, value sales rose year on year (for example, $18.6m sold in the 4

weeks to end January 2007 versus $17.2m in the same period 2005) thanks to greater user commitment (Source: TNS

Superpanel/IRI).

l Special K's value has risen progressively in the UK from a benchmark level of $143.4m (52 w/e 31st January 2004) to

$200.6m (52 w/e 6th October 2007). Value share reached its highest peak in 3 years in January 2006 at 12% of the UK

RTEC market (Source: IRI, 4 w/e 28th January 2006) in spite of a price increase and the total market declining in value.

UK: Special K Sales Results 2002–2007

l The 'Drop a Jean Size' 2 Week Challenge has consistently delivered the highest value return of any Special K TV

commercial per media £ spent since ROI modelling commenced in 2003. For example, it returned £4.26 ROI @ NSV in

January 2005 versus £0.45 ROI @ NSV for the Summer 2005 'Body Fat Challenge' (Source: Kellogg).

France: The French 'Après Fêtes Programme' has been successful in creating a second significant sales period beyond the

strength of the Special K pre-summer bikini challenge.

l The Q1 2005 promotional volume target was 590t; the promotional volume actually achieved was 623t which represented

an 182t increase on the same period 2004 and 33t above target. Furthermore, 2006 saw Special K surpass its ambitious

volume target of +120t on Q1 2005 achieving a breakthrough +154t (Source: IRI).

l Special K's household penetration in France has successively risen from 14% in Q4 2004 to 17.2% in Q3 2007 During

Jan-Feb 2006 alone, 352,000 new French households came to the Special K brand, 24.3% of whom were new brand

triallists (Source: Scodip).

l Special K's value share of market rose 2p.p. year on year from 14.8% to 16.8% in Q1 2005; it subsequently rose a further

+1.7p.p after the 2006 'Après Fêtes' challenge to 18.5% taking Q1 value share to a level higher than the summer

challenge for the first time ever (Source: IRI).


9

France: Special K 'Apres Fetes' value share gains 2005–06 v. 2004

l In terms of building brand affinity beyond the TV campaign, yearly visits to www.specialK.fr have tripled in the last 3 years

with women taking part in Challenge 'motivation' groups. Traffic rose +75% between 2005 and 2006 and a further

estimated +30% in 2007 (Source: Kellogg).

Mexico: Having only launched in 1997 in Mexico, Special K was still asserting its strength and was up against stiff, new

competition. The objectives for 'DAJS' in summer 2005 focused on protecting and building brand volume and value and

nuzzling deeper into Mexican women's consciousness.

l 8.2% all Mexican RTEC users participated in the Special K 'Drop a Jean Size' 2-week in summer 2005 (Source: Latin

Panel).

l Top of Mind brand awareness, which was essential for Special K to establish in the face of new competitors like Nestlé

Fitness, rose from zero at the start of 2005 to a (then) record peak of 12% during June–July 2005 (Source: Marketing

Group).

l As a result the brand enjoyed +8% volume growth in June-September 2005 against a target of +6% on 2004 (Source:

Retail Nielsen).

l The value share of market objective for summer 2005 was reached in August-September 2005 with Special K claiming

8.09% RTEC value share and in spite of packs selling at a discounted price during the Challenge (Source: Retail

Nielsen).

l Importantly, Nestlé Fitness market share was successfully suppressed and seen to decline, during the 'DAJS' challenge

activity in summer 2005 (Source: Retail Nielsen).


10

http://www.specialk.fr/

Mexico: Special K v. Nestle Fitness % Share of Market 2005

Spain: The 'Drop a Jeans Size' 2-week Challenge worked extremely hard, and successfully, to drive sales in Spain in 2007

flying in the face of no substantial end benefit claim and no price discounts or special offers in the trade to support the

challenge.

l The impact of the 'DAJS' TV campaign achieved unprecedented levels of advertising recognition reaching 77% versus

Special K's previous best score of 62% (Source: Millward Brown).

l Quarterly household penetration rates rose to 13% (Jan-Mar 2007) vs. 11% (Jan-Mar 2006), exceeding the 1p.p. target

set (Source: Nielsen). Households repeat purchasing Special K at least once rose from 833,000 in Jan-Mar 2006 to 1.1m

in Jan-Mar 2007 (Source: Nielsen).

l Volume targets, which had been set at +1681 tons for the period Jan-Mar 2007, exceeded expectations achieving an

actual sales uplift of +1830 tons, or +13% on the same period 2006 (Source: IRI).

Spain: Drop a Jean Size 2007 Sales Results

l A new record, or “milestone”, was set for Special K share of the Spanish RTEC market: the brand reached 17.1% volume

share and 24.7% value share in Jan-Mar 2007 (Source: IRI).


11

l Campaign ROI was very successful: the 'DAJS' challenge achieved the 2nd best ever ROI score for Special K in Kellogg

Spain's advertising econometric model reporting that for every GRP bought for the campaign, 639kg of Special K cereal

were sold (Source: Kellogg).

Overall, these figures represent just a snap shot of the (continuing) success and durability of the Special K 'Drop a Jean Size'

2-Week Challenge across the globe. Since it first ran in the UK in 2004, it has continued to prove its worth and has now been

adopted by a total of 15 global markets.

Anything Else Going on that might have Helped Drive Results?

While we have endeavoured to isolate the effect of the 'Drop a Jean Size' 2-week challenge on a market by market basis,

other factors have of course been involved in the brand's growing success 2004–2007.

Special K first launched in the US in 1955 and has progressively launched around the globe. The brand's most recent launch

was India in 2007. Such expansion has had an inevitable impact on the total global sales we have reported in this paper. New

product launches, notably Special K Snacks Bites which launched across Europe in 2007, and line extensions like new

flavours (Chocolate and Yellow Fruits in France, the Red Berries & Vanilla Clusters launch in Spain, ready to drink milk in

Mexico and the launch of Purple Berries and Bliss Strawberry & Chocolate in the UK) have also inevitably played a role in the

success. Other Special K promotions, specifically the traditional summer bikini challenge which for countries like France and

the UK continues to provide a key sales focus, have also helped drive growth.

ENDNOTES

*1 'Post-Christmas Programme'

*2 “Goodbye excess, hello shape!”

© Copyright Effie Worldwide, Inc. 2008 Effie Worldwide, Inc.

116 East 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016. United States of America

Tel: +1 212-687-3280, Fax: +1 212-557-9242

www.warc.com

All rights reserved including database rights. This electronic file is for the personal use of authorised users based at the subscribing company's office location. It may not be reproduced, posted on intranets, extranets

or the internet, e-mailed, archived or shared electronically either within the purchaser’s organisation or externally without express written permission from Warc.


12

http://www.warc.com/

Kelloggs Special K Drop a Jean Size Challenge

Documents

Transcript of Kelloggs Special K Drop a Jean Size Challenge