The first UK dairy TV campaign for 20 years helped drive an estimated 11.2 million litres of additional liquid milk sales during the pandemic, figures show.
According to Kantar, the UK-wide ‘Milk Your Moments’ campaign, which ran for 12 weeks from mid-May, resulted in an additional 212,000 consumers buying milk who would not otherwise have purchased it.
This was against a challenging background of milk already being bought by 98 percent of UK households prior to the pandemic.
The campaign also saw positive shifts in attitudes towards dairy in the target audience, with more consumers claiming that dairy was an important part of their diet and perfect for a growing family.
Funded with £1 million from AHDB, Dairy UK, Defra, as well as the devolved governments, the campaign aimed to address the drop in liquid milk demand caused by the closure of foodservice outlets due to Covid.
Processors helped to bring multiple retailers on board with the campaign and drove additional engagement on social media through dairy brands and industry organisations.
Paul Flanagan, AHDB Dairy strategy director said the campaign was an example of industry and government pulling together during a crisis, with 'fantastic results'.
"Every £1 spent on media, turned into £13.99 of retail sales," he said, “It shows just how much can be achieved when industry and government are all pulling in the same direction.”
‘Milk Your Moments’ was created to inspire moments of connection as people were forced to stay apart due to the coronavirus crisis.
It highlighted the role dairy plays during difficult times, with people visiting the campaign website to receive a ‘inspirational moment of connection’ to share on social media with £1 donated to mental health charities. £100,000 was raised overall.
Consisting of social media, website, billboards outside supermarkets and, for the first time in 20 years, television advertising, the campaign contributed £6.6m of milk sales, equivalent to 11.2m litres, to the overall uplift.
Dr Judith Bryans, chief executive of Dairy UK said: “Everyone involved in the development of this campaign went into it with a very positive mindset wanting to reassure them that dairy has always been with them and would continue to be with them through this crisis.
“The uplift in sales that was achieved and the positive behaviour changes evidenced by the results reflect the fact that the campaign’s messages resonated with consumers.”
