Dairy Marketing: A Fresh Approach to a Mature Brand

In the vast landscape of dairy marketing, a common perception exists: milk is just milk. But what if we could elevate this everyday staple to something more?

We recently had the privilege of assisting our long-standing client, Omsco (Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative), in their successful rebranding to ‘Organic Herd’. Strategic thinking was at the heart of this project. We paid meticulous attention to every detail of the transition, with a special emphasis on enhancing direct communication with consumers. Our task was to create a new identity that would act as a catalyst for internal and external change, and provide a platform for future business expansion.

Our journey began with a simple realisation: the organic dairy market lacked a clear benchmark for quality. Other markets enjoyed clear distinction over product quality with an intrinsic link to animal welfare, such as that with free-range poultry. If consumers in the UK clearly perceive that free-range is the bare-minimum, then why shouldn’t they perceive organic dairy as a bare minimum too?

The question for us quickly became – how can we reimagine dairy marketing, how can we re-educate consumers about organic, and how can we motivate them to appreciate a new minimum level of quality?

Automatic Purchasing Choices

Dairy products – milk, cheese, butter – are rarely destination items. They seamlessly integrate into recipes, quietly playing their role. As such, they are often what we would call ‘automated purchases’ that require little thought.

In a cost of living crisis, consumers are increasingly focused upon purchase cost and value. Consequently, this presents an issue in dairy marketing – how do you demonstrate increased value, without invoking negative connotations of an animal derived product? And how do you capture attention, and place emphasis on a purchase that is often unconscious?

Our Core Insight

From this first phase of research, we adopted the primary insight:

That consumers will continue to purchase non-organic dairy unless their purchasing path is disrupted.

Our conclusion was to focus upon defying consumer (and market) expectations by behaving differently from almost every other organic dairy brand. Be it tone of voice, visual aesthetic, or marketing behaviours, we knew that in order to escape the reputation of being a sleepy, luxury product, we had to radically rethink the presentation of organic dairy.

This disruptive approach to dairy was completely experimental, yet grounded in effective marketing principles. Whilst we would be challenging the status quo within organic dairy, we were also following a tried and tested formula that had served other product categories well.

To learn more about disruptive marketing, read our latest strategy article here.

Breaking the Mould

To aid development, we created six disruptive marketing tactics to act as a guide for our development of the Organic Herd brand:

• Intrigue: Create curiosity by introducing something unexpected.
• Surprise: Shock consumers with a fresh perspective on organic dairy.
• Annoy: Challenge the status quo and provoke thought.
• Question: Encourage consumers to question their choices.
• Interrupt: Break through the noise with disruptive messaging.
• Inspire: Ignite passion for organic dairy.

Throughout our development process, key learnings were drawn from outside sectors, particularly the non-dairy sector. We carefully studied their messaging, design aesthetic, and product strategy, and made note of which attributes were transferable across to our project.

Creating Distinctive Brand Qualities in Dairy Marketing

To authentically communicate with a wide variety of audiences, we developed a set of five brand characteristics or pillars, to help define the value proposition of the new brand.

These were:

We then further defined the new brand’s personality:

Organic Herd’s brand personality is a unique blend of warmth, rebellion, and innovation. Organic Herd’s rebellious nature is fuelled by a passion for creating change and redefining what ‘Organic’ actually means to the consumer. As a brand, we embrace unconventional thinking and constantly push boundaries, so that we can deliver the highest quality products, whilst making a positive overall impact on the planet.

Putting it all into Practice

The new logo unashamedly communicates the new brand name, which in itself embodies the brand qualities of being honest and authentic about being an organic cooperative of dairy farmers.

The freshly curated colour palette is versatile and dynamic, designed for diverse applications such as digital marketing and social media. It has been meticulously crafted to make a powerful impact in a retail environment.

The revamped tone of voice and communication style ensures that messages are not only clearly comprehended but also leave a positive impression upon the desired target audience.

And finally, the newly developed packaging design is intentionally audacious and provocative, designed to command attention within the competitive landscape of the organic dairy market.