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| Illustration: Jonathan Towers, Omnific Design |
Strategy and brand positioning is something that Coles has been struggling with for as long as I can remember. Why? Because their nemesis, "The Fresh Food People", have done a terrific job.
Firstly, by adopting this great position and, secondly, by sticking to it. After all, great brands understand that people and personalities don’t really change.
Coles on the other hand has changed its position a number of times and is still trying to convince us that they are cheaper. Every market research study ever conducted has revealed that price is down the ladder in the consumer decision-making process. It is truly a wonder why Coles keeps pursuing this strategy.
Unfortunately for Coles, it gets worse. Their latest round of Coles "fresh" commercials, against all reason and logic, is trying to convince us that they are, in fact, "the new fresh people". I would bet my own hard-earned cash that when the advertisement first aired, the first few seconds of the TVC made the audience think it was indeed the real "fresh food people"!
Smiling Lisa tells me from my TV screen that at Coles I can "save every day", and it says so in the catalogue, too. The website reinforces this message and informs me about "Fresh Friday" – the one day fresh food sale. The website goes on to say, "Fresh Friday adds to the hundreds of weekly specials and Everyday Low Price products we have in our stores, so everyone will receive great value whenever they shop."
Maybe I’m the only one confused, but I thought I could save every day and now it seems that Friday’s ‘specials’ are more special.
One would expect that even the most junior of the ad agency’s ‘suits’ and ‘creatives’ would realise that trying to muscle in on your competitors’ entrenched position, even if you were planning to ‘outspend’ them for the next few years, would be a complete waste of shareholder funds. Not that Coles ever had that luxury to begin with.
Unfortunately, such blunders have become the norm. Whether you have read Reis and Trout or studied some basic marketing concepts, this ‘Coles-up’ gets into the top 10 ‘Unbelievable but true’ archive of Australian advertising.
‘Let’s make our ad look like that of our competitor’ is one strategy that is unlikely to catch on. However, it did nearly make me rush out and buy some CML shares. As much as I would have enjoyed causing a little stir at the AGM, I decided against it.
After all, truth is a currency of convenience. And truly fresh ideas rarely come in slogans.
Gene Stark is the principal of Stark Reality, a consultancy specialising in strategic marketing and campaign implementation for medium-size enterprises.
www.starkreality.com.au
