Submitted By: Surina Dongol
Case Summary
Got-milk Campaign
Got milk campaign was started in order to remind people of how much they need the milk in their daily lives. It was started by the advertising company named Goodby, Silverstein & Partners with the initiation from Jeff Manning who found out the US consumption of milk had been declining over the last fifteen years.
The campaign was based on a “milk deprivation” strategy that reminded consumers how terrible it was to be without milk with certain foods like cereal, brownies, or chocolate chip cookies. Consumers in California responded positively to the campaign, embracing the quirky ads and also consuming more milk than if the rate of decline had continued.
After carefully studying the consumer behavior and the demand and supply pattern of milk, Manning and representatives from the CMPB’s advertising agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, decided that the best strategy to reverse the declining trends was to embark on a new, innovative advertising campaign. Nobody doubted that previous milk campaigns successfully achieved positive shifts in consumer attitudes toward milk. What was missing, however, was a corresponding change in consumer behavior. Consumers knew milk was good and thought they should drink more of it, but they never thought enough about milk to be motivated to change their consumption habits. The typical milk campaign—emphasizing calcium and other vitamins—caused consumers to tune out. The recommended campaign had to break the mold for milk advertising, grab attention, and shake consumers out of their “milk malaise.” Manning knew that other beverages had successfully built up strong brand images over the last decade and he believed that milk could do the same by taking a more light-hearted approach, which talked directly to consumers. Manning reflected back on the decision: The dairy industry has taken itself too seriously. Eating is a form of...