Taking it to the nines

MARKETING PLOY: EXTRA PIECE OF PIZZA MAKES DARK KITCHEN STAND OUT

Milk brand’s new blue packaging makes its campaign turn sour.

There can be few sectors of this economy which have been so devastated by the coronavirus lockdown as the restaurant business. So, I was flabbergasted that what is perhaps the best creative marketing idea I have seen this year came from a restaurant guy in Joburg.

I stumbled across it on Twitter, where someone was praising the Dark Kitchen in Birdhaven for its unique idea for a “9th slice” of pizza with your order.

You can have it delivered by the various delivery services but you can also collect it yourself – which someone did, and then raved about the idea of the ninth slice. That was perfect for snacking on the drive home with the rest of the order, she said.

Dark Kitchen is one of the ways Joburg restaurateur Larry Hodes came up with to help survive the Covid carnage.

He has a number of other eateries, which were all forced to close under the initial lockdown, and a kitchen which was not being utilised – although he was still paying rent – became the place he started turning out takeout foods when it was allowed.

The most popular food for takeout, globally, is pizza, followed closely by burgers – and Hodes concentrated on those items, with some tasty ribs dishes thrown into the mix.

He said the business is ultra-competitive and the ninth slice idea was his way of standing out from the competition.

In executing that idea and a range of upbeat, punchy, yet simple and attractive teasers pushed on to social media platforms, Hodes brought in Ryan du Toit of DuTwaa Creative Agency.

The great thing about the whole business is that it shows that small and medium operations don’t need megabucks ad agencies to come up with world-first ideas.

So, Orchids to Larry Hodes and Dark Kitchen, as well as to Du Toit and DuTwaa Creative Agency.

Back in the mid-’80s, at the height of the “Cola Wars”, Coca-Cola committed what many consider the biggest marketing blunder of all time.

In an effort to repel Pepsi in the marketplace, Coke changed its secret recipe, touting “New Coke” as the finest soft drink in history.

The consumer backlash was like nothing seen before, or since.

And three months later, Coke brought back the original as “Classic Coke”, then quietly retired the usurper… as its market share went higher than it ever was.

Some still believe that New Coke was a clever marketing con to cement consumer relationships and grab even more sales.

One is left wondering whether a similar thing might not be happening with Clover Milk, which, amid big fanfare last weekend, announced it was changing its bottles from the traditional white to blue. The contents, so we are told, remain “milky white”.

Why? And again – why? There is no logical packaging, marketing or branding reason for the change.

Clover has been taking a pasting right across social media for its decision. And critics are hammering it in myriad different ways.

Things were not made any better by the awful video which accompanied the launch, of a Smurflike figure talking nonsense.

I hope it is all a gag – and even if it is, who is stupid enough to have fun at the expense of a household name brand?

If it was done as part of a serious marketing strategy then, Clover, you have lost your way.

Whatever way you look at this, it leaves a sour taste. More sour, even, than the Onion you are getting.

Most popular takeout food is pizza, followed closely by burgers