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“PR wouldn’t work for every brand but our category had a lot
of PR interest because health benefits were an area of interest
to consumers. The launch of products gained substantial PR
support too because they were completely new in terms of for-
mat. The drum and portable pot had never been seen before
and the sachet was new for a lot of people,” Noonan explains.
Another initiative to attract PR attention involved the company
teaming up with chef Kevin Dundon for an all-Ireland (and beyond)
porridge promotion including a porridge-making competition.
Competitors were invited to enter two categories: one to create
the perfect porridge dish and the other to develop the most inno-
vative recipe using Flahavan’s Irish porridge oats range.
Flahavan’s has used advertising to dial up the overall brand
Animated porridge characters in a recent
aspect, says Noonan. “Radio worked well in terms of explaining
Flahavan’s TV ad campaign the convenience products in their usage context – for instance
the portable pot or sachet in the office environment. Our
research showed this was where people were using them and
this appealed to a younger audience beating the traffic into
work and having breakfast there.”
The tag line for Flahavan’s advertising is ‘Sets you up for life’,
which Noonan says aims to reflect how the brand promotes
good health to deal with immediacy, but also carries a longer-
term aspect.
The TV and radio ads have run on all national channels and a
variety of regional stations. Using a female voiceover, the radio
ads, such as ‘No Rush’ in 2008, were conversational in tone,
while the TV ads made in 2007 and 2008 use animation to per-
sonify the packs as characters.
“We were anxious to run ads where the tone of voice is
upbeat and energy driven. The branding element is strong in the
TV ads, personifying some of its characteristics as positives:
energy for the day ahead and being in a rush. We also wanted
to portray the family aspect at breakfast and achieved this
through personifying the Flahavan’s ‘family’ of products,” says
Noonan.
“The TV ads, such as the 2008 ‘Cold Mornings’, are still very
relevant but we’re looking at making a new TV and radio ad
over the next 12 months.”
Challenging the export market
In the Irish market, the company’s marketing strategy has been
based around leadership, while entering the UK market in 2003
required a different approach.
“We were well known in Ireland with a high market share, which
meant we could enjoy economies of scale and look at consider-
able advertising and promotional activity. However, in the UK we
weren’t known. Flahavan’s was a challenger brand and the type
of emotive imagery we would use in Ireland wouldn’t be appreci-
ated by consumers there,” says Noonan.
“It became important for us to have a clear understanding of
what the emotive and functional aspects of the brand are. You
Volume 4 Issue 1 2010 Marketing Age 31
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