A look at the Seven Seas brand under 25 year guidance of Principles
Following the recent parting of the way between Seven Seas and marketing agency Principles after a 25 year marketing parnership, The Drum takes a look at the achievements for the brand over that time.
In the time period of a quarter of a Century, Seven Seas went from being a ‘forgotten product’, remembered after the war for the awful taste of its Cod Liver Oil, to become one of the leading brands of vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS). `
Although appointed in 1986, some of those at Principles at the time of the initial appointment had previously worked with the brand in ‘a former life,’ and began the undertaking of regenerating Seven Seas from a Cod Liver Oil producer to a healthcare brand.
The new range of VMS opened up the distribution and customer base to allow a more modern positioning to be used; ‘Good Health, Naturally’.
Research also saw that Cod Liver Oil sales were declining and while it remained a significant aspect of the brand – its taste was still a problem. This lead to taste-free cod liver oil capsules being introduced alongside the repositioning ‘Remember the Goodness, forget the Taste’.
The most iconic aspect of the Seven Seas relationship with Principles came in the creation of its ‘Tin Man’ character in the 90’s as a way of promoting the benefit that Cod Liver Oil had for the joints of the body. The character would become synonymous with flexibility and mobility among the older target audience through a daytime TV strategy which culminated in the sponsorship of Channel 4’s quiz series Countdown.
The strategy saw an arrest in the decline of sales, up 5 percent in fact, and recorded a 50 percent awareness of its Countdown sponsorship.
Chris Goodwin, founding partner of Principles explains that the agency’s creative director Keith Lishman dreamt of the use of the character while watching the Wizard of Oz one Christmas.
“Keith phoned me at home, it was just before Christmas so it was strange as it’s not like him to be calling just to wish me a Merry Christmas. He called and asked ‘Are you watching TV?’ He told me to change the channel and we started talking about the idea of using that character and have him oiling his joints. It all came from that.”
Goodwin is also one of only four actors to play the Tin Man, being drafted in as a last minute replacement following the illness of an actor. “I didn’t really have a choice. They needed an actor for the shoot and the client was standing right there. I was volunteered and couldn’t really say ‘no’.”
By the next decade, the agency’s objective was to grow the marketing share of Cod Liver Oil by bringing new users to the product and encourage increased purchasing. This saw the communications strategy refreshed along with the brand values in order to reinforce the brand benefits which led to the development of the ‘Twist’ campaign.
The campaign recorded a market rise of £50 million plus and a market share for Seven Seas of 64%.
The story of the Cod Liver Oil brand developed further in the 00’s with the launch of brand extension Seven Seas Neutrataste – the new name for the taste free cod liver oil capsule, while modernising the packaging of the brand following consumer feedback.
Throughout the campaigns, mobility and movement remained the core benefit message, although the use of silhouettes was implemented in the marketing in order to avoid showing the age of consumers, leading to the consumer profile falling to 45+ and a rise in sales of 7.3%.
2000 would also witness the birth of Seven Seas Multibionta which entered the £300 million + vitamins, minerals and supplements market and position the brand as an enabler for those with busy, hectic lifestyles through the strapline ‘Puts back what life takes out’.
The target audience for the project was women, aged 25-45, who may worry about the effects their lifestyle had on their health. To do this, the marketing featured a ‘running girl’ poster and highlighted its strong line to probiotic yoghurt drinks and ‘friendly bacteria’.
With a very limited budget, the agency set about creating a TV campaign featuring the Running Girl which was placed on Channel 4 during shows such as Desperate Housewives and Sex in the City. The campaign highlighted that Multibionta was able to maintain health and energy levels and would ride on the back of probiotic yoghurt activity.
Sales went from £3 million to almost £10 million over a six year period of TV support, with the market share growing from 3.8 percent of the multivitamin market to 13.4 percent between 2000 and 2006.
2003 saw the release of Seven Seas JointCare, the Glucosamine-based supplement which was first advertised in a press campaign, achieving a 29% share of a £21m market.
A TV campaign followed in 2005, growing share to 35% in a market which had risen to £32 million. It is a market which now stands at over £43 million, with Seven Seas maintaining individual brand leadership.
A tested integrated-led approach was used in 2006, when the ‘Big Fish’ campaign rolled out, with a focus on the benefits including brain health of a rich source of Omega 3.
The ‘Twist’ campaign was also revived, once again focusing on movement and mobility.
Today, Seven Seas has combined the joint health messages of both its Cod Liver Oil and JointCare brands and recorded a sales increase during last year’s campaign of 6.3 percent.