Case Study for Agency
03-1014994-767

MILK

Key Problem: Overcome a 30-year decline in milk consumption

When we were awarded the business in 1994, per capita milk consumption
in the United States had experienced three decades of decline. Milk’s
competitors had expanded to include aggressively marketed soft drinks,
sports drinks, teas, waters, juices—you name it. All of these branded
choices were more contemporary than milk. Consumers believed that milk
was just for kids, not modern, limited in usage, fattening and
unhealthy. Our challenge: change people’s perceptions of the product
and ultimately increase usage among a broad range of consumer segments:
moms, kids, seniors, teens, Hispanic, African American, etc.

Solution: You’d Be Surprised At Who’s Drinking Milk

Our research among role models in popular culture revealed that
consumers might be very surprised at who drinks milk and why. The idea
of a celebrity endorsement campaign, however, needed a unifying element
to form a cohesive message. The Milk Mustache tied it all together as a
big idea.

The campaign has featured more than 200 celebrities crossing all
cultural boundaries, including some of the country’s most popular
actors, athletes, models and musicians: Beyonce, Jessica Alba, Elton
John, Jennifer Aniston, David Beckham and Serena Williams to name a
few. Sasha Cohen encouraged teenage girls to drink milk to reach their
ideal height. A-Rod told men that their bones keep growing until
they’re 35. Mariska Hargitay reminded moms that they are the ultimate
role model for their kids and should set a good example by drinking
milk. And Marc Anthony stressed the importance of drinking milk to
Hispanic consumers.

For Moms, we developed a weight loss message supported by a
multi-platform communications plan. In addition to print ads featuring
Mariska Hargitay, messages on WebMD, and branded content segments on
the Biggest Loser, we created television executions that address key
concerns of this important target. And we also developed a retail
calendar of promotional events throughout the year supported by
national retail TV tags and POS material.

Driving Consumption by segments through Entertainment Affinities:

We build synergies with the media: We use the right celebrity at the
right time. For instance, Ben Roethlisberger was the featured celebrity
in the Super Bowl edition of Sports Illustrated. We tap into hot
moments in pop culture such as Serena Williams’ dominance in women’s
tennis.

We create unique, ownable content: We secured naming rights to the main
athletic facility at Disneyland. The Milk House Sports Complex, with
its interior adorned with Milk Mustache celebrity athletes, has become
the premiere venue for national amateur sports competitions, with over
200,000 athletes every year. Our NBA Rookie of the Year marquee
sponsorship features monthly winning rookies in Milk Mustache ads, as
well as the final Rookie winner. We used the NBA for in-store
promotional support and for an on-line auction. And 50 winning high
schools were visted by local NBA talent as part of winning our annual
Healthy Student Bodies Challenge.

Results

We successfully helped our clients reverse the 30-year sales decline.
Consumption increased in many consumer groups targeted by the campaign,
particularly teens and women:
• Milk consumption is up 11% among women since the launch of the
weight-loss message
• Teen consumption up 10%

In 2006, every 1 spent in MilkPEP marketing returned more than 6 in
incremental sales revenues. Working in partnership with MilkPEP
Marketing and a third-party firm, we were able to measure the
performance of specific marketing elements, and use this information to
optimize media spending allocations.

Finally, the MILK Mustache has moved beyond the category and become an
enduring popular cultural icon.

Our 2006 efforts on behalf of MILK have earned an EFFIE for most
effective use of media.