Nestle's Promotion Strategy

Nestlé’s theme in promotions field is-“Think Globally, Act Locally”. It is a global brand, although

advertising messages and product formulation vary to suit local differences.

Nestle has its own website (www.nestle.com) and there are more than 100 countries registered under it with almost each one of them having its own website. Uniquely, Nestle has its own website for each product it sells like www.milo.com.au, www.nescafe.com etc. These have been set up to provide information to the customer related to a particular product.

Nestle has a history of striking partnerships. It has always partnered with the right brands.

• It partnered with Coca-Cola in ready to drink teas and coffees. Coca-Cola entered into a licensed agreement with Nestle for the Nestea brand. The partnership helped Nestle enjoy the benefits of Coca-Cola’s world-wide bottling system and expertise in prepared beverages. Their joint venture was named Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW).
•          Nestlé’s partnership with Google is a famous one. Android version named Kit Kat was released by google in 2013 and one can imagine the level of publicity the company would have fetched out of this partnership. In the press release, Nestle mentioned that Google chose Kit Kat as the name of the android version 4.4 because its engineers love the chocolate and it is their snack for late night coding. 

         Nestlé’s combative advertising campaign against its rival Cadbury is one of the bests of its type. It launched an advertising campaign with tagline-“sirf pehli tarikh ko nahi, kabhi bhi kha sakte hai” and this directly mocked Cadbury’s brand proposition as it had initiated a campaign titled-“kuch meetha ho jae, aaj pehli tarikh hai”. This ultimately helped Nestle dilute the impact of its competitor on the customers.

       Nestlé’s major target segment is the younger generation. Maggi, kit Kat, milo and several other nestle products are consumed mostly by children. Hence, promoting the brand at school level has been the strategy of Nestle since the very beginning. It organises events like Maggi quiz, milo marathons etc. in schools where the prize is generally a mixed bag of nestle products. Maggi stations are fast replacing the traditional school canteens. It sponsors International Polo Tournament and SAF Games and these have helped it make a global impact. Recently, in Januray 2012, Nestle enetered into a 5-year sponsorship with IAAF and has become the main sponsor of IAAF Kids’ Athletics Programme.

           Effective tagline communication is a strong point of Nestle in the field of promotions. The taglines have            always justified its products. For eg.-

                        ·  Maggi-“Fast to Cook, Good to Eat”. Maggi is advertised by Nestle as ‘2 minutes noodles’ and is                                  projected as a convenience product for moms and as a fun or taste-based product for children. So, the                            tagline speaks everything.

                        ·  Kit Kat-“Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat”. This is one of the most often heard lines on television whenever                    a break is to be called.

        

           Nestle is a nutrition, health and wellness company and this is highlighted in its public relation activities             and CSR. These are one of the most effective promotion means as they help you connect directly with the                people.For eg.

                       ·     Provides assistance to hospitals and other organisations that serve the poor.

                       ·     Responds to distress calls by government and NGOs for providing assistance to earthquake, flood,                                 drought victims.

                       ·     Helps undernourished children through several NGOs and charitable organisations.

                       ·     Recently it spent considerable sums of money on a consumer communication campaign to make                              consumers aware of the new labelling system that would help them in buying and products. A market                            research company was hired to understand how and to what extent communicating with the consumers                              worked in favour of the company. And the research outcome showed an unusual rise in the sales.

      

      With its innovative promotion strategy, Nestle has been able to overshadow its competitors in several product segments. World’s largest food company (by revenue) has surely impressed the customers through its ground-breaking marketing ideas. “Nestlé’s sales growth excluding acquisitions, divestments and currency swings may reach its goal for an average level of 5 percent to 6 percent in 2014”, Chief Executive Officer Paul Bulcke said.