Anchoring on provenance
Southeast Asia (SEA) is home to a 700 million population hungry for quality dairy and a growing demand for dairy foods – butter, cheese, cream, and yogurt - is setting the stage for redefining Anchor in the region.
Across SEA, you’ll already find the brand in some traditional formats, UHT milk and cream, chilled and canned butter, ambient cheese blocks, and chilled slices, a regional favorite.
Dairy foods are an important part of Anchor’s regional consumer portfolio. It's a NZD100 million business that already contributes 10% of SEA’s value and is set to grow further. High margins make it an important value generator and an attractive proposition.
Dairy foods are an important part of Anchor’s regional consumer portfolio. It's a NZD100 million business that already contributes 10% of SEA’s value and is set to grow further. High margins make it an important value generator and an attractive proposition.
That said, competition is rife with more brands keenly eyeing a slice of the pie and local, cheaper alternatives starting to crowd retail shelves.
"It's why differentiation is key," says Dinith Pathirana, who’s part of the team driving SEA’s Dairy Foods and Fortified Beverages business. “We know we’ve got a premium offering in Anchor, now it's about positively influencing purchasing decisions by getting consumers to be really clear on its value, why it tastes so good.
It all boils down to provenance, what the team calls our New Zealand goodness.
“When it comes to dairy foods, taste and quality are the top consumer needs in SEA,” he says. “Anchor delivers on both of these needs, simply through its origins, and the way we farm.”
Consumer focus groups in SEA unveiled a comforting truth : NZ-made and sourced products are already well regarded and trusted for quality, another strong reason to dial up our provenance, sustainability, and nutritional credentials to drive consumption across SEA.
The Anchor team has done exactly this in their latest campaign, deviating from traditional festival-led brand campaigns, focusing squarely on NZ goodness to communicate product superiority.
"It's why differentiation is key," says Dinith Pathirana, who’s part of the team driving SEA’s Dairy Foods and Fortified Beverages business. “We know we’ve got a premium offering in Anchor, now it's about positively influencing purchasing decisions by getting consumers to be really clear on its value, why it tastes so good.
The effort targets more than 70% consumers in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines and is a great example of a ‘glocal’ effort in delivering consistency and scale across markets with maximum efficiency.
The Global Anchor brand team developed key visuals, reels, communications, and a tool kit, leveraging local and regional insights, freeing local teams to focus on great execution in market via local country sites like this one, for consumers to learn more.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, with different regions and markets at different stages of maturity in the purchasing cycle, says Amanda Brauman, Global Marketing Manager, Anchor/Dairy Foods. "Taking the effort to really understand what consumers care about is paying off."
"Our job to be done is to get consumers to buy Anchor butter and cheese by highlighting the taste and goodness that comes from New Zealand grass-fed dairy”.
“We’re already the #1 dairy brand in New Zealand – with the right focus, clear, consistent communications (and a bit of patience!) there’s no reason we can't strive for the same in South East Asia.”