Cadbury has named sporting champions, Sally Pearson and Anna Meares, as its new brand ambassadors, as part of the confectionery giant’s sponsorship of the Australian Olympic Team.
Mondelez International confirmed in August it would be the official chocolate, candy, biscuits and spreads partner of the Australian Olympic Team, through brands including Cadbury, The Natural Confectionary Company, Oreo, Ritz, Vegemite and Kraft Peanut Butter.
Lauren Fildes, head of strategic partnerships and events, Cadbury, told Inside FMCG, the fully integrated campaign will roll out from January 2016 until August, with its key headline centred around “Bringing on the Joy”. While unable to give further details, Fildes said the campaign would be aimed at families and will be across multiple channels, including both in and out of store activations.
“We did a lot of research around what our consumers wanted to see out of ambassadors. From a Cadbury perspective, we wanted ambassadors that showed passion, were humble, and also intrinsically linked within the fabric of Australia like Cadbury is, and Sally and Anna are definitely that. Bring on the Joy is also really a rally cry for Australians to get behind our athletes,” Fildes said.
The new partnership follows Cadbury’s recent tie up with Channel 9’s reality TV show, The Voice, in which Cadbury was the headline sponsor. The multi-channel campaign for the TV show was based on the ‘Joy of Discovery’ and was one of Cadbury’s largest in recent years. It also formed one of its biggest moves into the live music and entertainment space.
“Sponsorships for [Cadbury] for the last two years have been a key pillar of our marketing campaign. Through sponsorships we feel it can really show a brand’s true identity in a different way, and in a way that’s relevant at the time,” Fildes said.
Cadbury has previously said its sponsorship strategy over the next four years will be centred around aligning itself with the music and entertainment industry.
“Movies and music is where we know our consumers feel the most passion about on an everyday level, but the Olympics is just one of those out of the box moments that a brand like us could not afford not be a part of”.
