Iceland is aiming to show “more of a cheeky personality” as it aims to stand out in the groceries market.
According to Mel Matson, Marketing Director at the frozen food retailer, Iceland has a much smaller marketing budget than the likes of Tesco and Asda.
However, she believes that showing an irreverent side could help it “achieve real cut through”.
“There’s an opportunity to agitate more with Iceland’s advertising, so if that means us being more of a challenger brand or disruptor then I am happy with that,” she commented.
Ms Matson also confirmed that Iceland no longer plans to use celebrity endorsements to promote its brand.
This marks a significant step change for the brand, following successful campaigns featuring the likes of Kerry Katona and Peter Andre.
“Kerry stood us in good stead because when we used her she was really relevant in UK life, but we now feel confident to stand on our own two feet and not rely on a celebrity endorsement,” Ms Matson said.
“There will be no return to Kerry or Peter. As far as I’m concerned, celebrity-driven ads are not on the cards at any point.”
Instead, Ms Matson wants to push a quality-driven message and tackle myths around frozen food.
“We’re looking to have a revolution in how we talk about our food,” she continued.
“We need to constantly talk to people about our premium quality and focus on the surprise of them finding that out for themselves.”
Ms Matson acknowledged that Iceland is some way behind the likes of Aldi and Lidl when it comes to convincing people of its quality.
However, she said the company is focused on “forging our own path” rather than emulating what the German discounters have done.
Ms Matson added that the current economic environment gives Iceland an “opportunity to push on” and make sure people know it has a credible offering at a time when “they might not be as confident about their spending power or what the future holds”.
Iceland says celebrity-driven ads are now a ‘thing of the past, Marketing Week
