Why?

The root problem of “St Môret” in Belgium was low brand awareness, little consumer understanding of its naturality USP, and heavy competitor investment in innovation.

In the Netherlands “Paturain” was also impacted by aggressive competitive activities. Due to limited internal resources to work on additional strategic projects & the recognisable time-pressure, the Markitects were asked to take on the launch of a new segment of “whipped cheese” in both markets in a way to:

1. Reinstall the whole “St Môret” brand in Belgium.

2. Refresh & regain market share with “Paturain” in the Netherlands.

What?

The Markitects quickly jumped into the B2C cheese category, analysed facts, figures & insights and injected their multiple industry experience into the project and helped craft a consistent brand strategy with a strong product concept. Then they went on to develop a strategic marketing, media & activation plan.

The Markitects coordinated the product launch of “St Môret Mousse” & “Paturain La Mousse” relaunch with all stakeholders: from high-level strategy & internal buy-in, international R&D/production/supply chain, across to packaging, media planning, advertising towards the consumer down to pragmatic in-store visibility & promotional activation towards the shopper.

In Belgium, the strategy for “St Môret” existed of a 3-folded approach:

1. One brand family: moving towards 1 power-brand by relaunching “Apérifrais” as a sub-brand under the “St Môret” brand name.

2. Umbrella brand awareness: a strong media plan to create awareness around the “St Môret” mother brand.

3. Mousse launch: an aggressive 360° marketing plan to create awareness, trial & repurchase and add modernity and innovation into the brand.

In the Netherlands, the Mousse concept had to quickly gain awareness with a broad audience. The Markitects boosted media plans in order to gain efficacy in terms of timing, frequency and reach by adapting channels to address new consumption behaviour, adding Video-On-Demand & social media to traditional TV campaigns.

Results? In Belgium, the in-store/on-shelf presence of the brand has increased. In the Netherlands, the volume of "Paturain" YTD 2016 & value share increased double digit. The media campaign managed to increase reach by 7% vs. initial plan. In both countries, initial rotations of the launched Mousse products outperform our most aggressive forecasts. On top, we also see a halo-effect that increases rotations of key existing "St Môret" & "Paturain" SKUs, which means this launch already has a positive impact on the equity of both brands!

"The Markitects added real value to our cheese brands & marketing team. With their multiple FMCG marketing expertise they optimised the launch of different marketing projects with a clear & innovative strategy and lead the way to rejuvenate the brands "St Môret" & "Paturain" internationally. They also help set up a positive spirit to reinforce the marketing team".

Hélène Scion, Marketing Director, Savencia BeNeLux

"Their senior cross-sector helicopter-thinking helped our organisation to accelerate & optimised the launch of 2 innovative pilot concepts for the Group in BeNeLux. They’re good at scrutinising existing approaches and introduce innovative knowledge that makes the whole team evolve."

Toni di Renzo, General Manager, Savencia BeNeLux