Danone tests its positioning, argument and TV advertisements

Actimel by Danone is a fresh, probiotic drinking yoghurt, which contains the active bacteria Lactobacillus Casei Defensis. The active bacterium improves the digestion as it is in harmony with the stomach’s own bacterial flora.

Actimel is sold as a small one-decilitre bottle and is drunk as a "shot" every morning. How shall this unique message be communicated so that the Scandinavian consumers will understand it and believe the arguments? They have probably had other habits for a long time when it comes to yoghurt.

"To solve this problem we have been working with Zapera from the very beginning," says Matteo Rollino, Market Manager.

The first step was to do a basic mapping of the entire yoghurt market in order to find out, where Danone could create a sustainable niche for Actimel with its special character.

The next step was to test different creative concepts. We tested several different concepts regarding understanding, acceptance and which buying interest it created, Matteo adds.

The third step is that Danone is testing its TV commercials, which are streamed to the respondents, when they log on to Zapera’s homepage. We measure the overall meaning of the advertisements, the basic understanding of the message, uniqueness, the interest of buy and the attitudes towards the Actimel brand, Matteo says.

A problem in Sweden in particular is the restrictions concerning what you are allowed to say when it comes to advertising for healthcare products. This is why it is extremely important to make sure that the consumers really do understand the message and take it in.

Danone has chosen only to do market research through the Internet, since the online penetration in the Nordic countries is very high.

Surely I sometimes miss watching the facial expressions on the partitions in a focus group, but it is more than compensated for when we get qualitative information through Zapera from a considerably larger group, Matteo ends.

Danone is a multinational food business and is market leader on the global market for bottled fresh milk and mineral water. For instance Danone started producing yoghurt in 1919 and has gained profound knowledge ever since.

In Scandinavia Danone is located in Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

Source: Zapera News, Issue 23, October 2006