Larger organisations help to
finance the campaign;
✷ Help to stimulate overall demand
for a product;
✷ Help to dispel general category
misconceptions, for example
the association of eggs and
cholesterol, to the benefit of the
entire sector.
Benefits of brand promotions:
✷ Works best in a concentrated
market;
✷ Stimulates demand for a specific
product over the competition;
✷ Most e;ective when consumer is
already well informed about the
category;
✷ Helps to reinforce meaningful
product di;erentiation.
Market understanding
Alongside Dr Steenkamp’s
presentation, the IEC organised a
dedicated marketing seminar which
looked at initiatives in Canada and
Europe.
Following a re-examination
of marketing
strategies, egg
consumption in
Canada is again
rising, said Bonnie
Cohen.
Bonnie Cohen, of national
marketing agency Egg Farmers of
Canada, explained that eggs already
have a 97% penetration in Canadian
households, making it incredibly
di;cult to win new consumers.
The challenge currently facing
Egg Farmers of Canada is how to
encourage those people already
eating eggs to eat more.
Egg consumption in Canada was
at its highest in 1957, with 25 dozen
eggs per person consumed annually.
Today, this has fallen to 15 dozen.
Rather than continuing to blindly
promote eggs to women and
children, telling them the messages
they wanted to hear, Egg Farmers
of Canada decided to adopt a new
approach.
2. Reaching the primary influencer
Egg Farmers of Canada has been
educating doctors to help dispel the
cholesterol myth, making it easier for
doctors to then educate patients.
3. Healthy energy strategy
Eggs are an excellent source of
protein and provide lasting energy,
and this message has been promoted
nationally. Sponsorship links have
been forged with the country’s
leading ice hockey players to promote
the health benefits of eggs.
4. Tailoring programmes
It is particularly important to
adapt programmes to di;erent
needs, especially in a country the size
of Canada.
This new strategy has proven
to be e;ective. Egg consumption
in Canada has increased and is
predicted to increase further still.
Europe
Eggs continue to sell well
in Europe and there has been
an increase in demand for egg
specialities, despite a recent slow
down in sales of organic eggs.
Magali Depras
highlighted ways
of differentiating
from the
competition.
She explained that all large
European retailers are now o;ering
their own-brand, private label egg
categories and that even discount
stores o;er the full egg range,
including barn, free range and organic.
The last three or four decades
have seen a number of innovations
in the egg market. In the 1970s, the
choice was between white and
brown eggs; the 1980s brought the
choice of barn eggs; in 1990 free-range and organic eggs arrived,
and, since the turn of the century,
customers have been given the
opportunity to purchase eggs
that are high in omega 3 and with
enriched vitamin content.
Create the best image
Depras noted that there are more
than a dozen di;erent egg segments
in Europe, including: housing types;
hen breeds; region and tradition; XL
eggs; omega 3 and vitamin enriched;
children; extra fresh; sports and fitness;
cook and eat.
She explained that understanding
what the consumer wants from their
egg purchase enables you to market
its benefits to them.
