How Q Fresh chocolate milk became the market leader

In the fall of 2022, Q Fersk sjokolademelk wanted to reinforce its position as Norway's best chocolate milk. Q-dairies wanted to reach a target group that, according to surveys, perceives advertising as disturbing.

With a limited budget, Q-dairies needed a smart but efficient solution.

PHD and Aller Media took the challenge head on! The mission was to increase awareness and preference for "Norway's Best" - and to reach a target group that did not want to be hit by advertising, in a market where Tine had a market-leading position.

- Q Fresh chocolate milk competes in a market and with a target group that has little interest in advertising. To get attention and be remembered by the target group, we needed a solution that stood out," says Media Advisor Julie Bjurstedt at PHD.

Together with Q-meieriene, Aller Media and PHD had three goals. They were to increase the association with "Norway's best", increase the preference for "Norway's best chocolate milk" and work towards becoming the market leader.

Seamless and natural withdrawal in the Non Stop universe

- We knew it was a difficult target group to reach! Therefore, we needed a seamless solution that was not perceived as disruptive. The synergy between channel and brand was crucial," says Alexander Vigebo, Strategic Group Account Manager at Aller Media.

The solution was an extensive sponsorship in the playful Non Stop universe on Dagbladet TV. Here they worked carefully with the details and integration of the product so that it was perceived as a natural part of the program.

- It was crucial that the selection was able to distribute existing video material for Q Fersk and strengthen the association with "Norway's best". In addition, the target group meeting was very good at Non stop. The sponsorship allowed us to communicate Q Fersk and "Norway's best" in several ways that were likely to reach the target group," says Bjurstedt.

Non Stop increased the spread among the target group by engaging on TikTok in different ways. Whether it was through competitions or other forms of user engagement.

Best results ever

Before the sponsorship, the association with "Norway's best" in the target group was 12%. After the sponsorship, we saw that it was 26% - a whopping 117% increase! Preference for Q Fresh chocolate increased from 18% to 29%. And purchase visibility from 25 to 35%.

According to research, a boost of just one percentage point in purchase probability is estimated to be SEK 550,000.

Together with PHD, the Aller Media universe managed to achieve a boost of ten percentage points on this point.

- We knew that it was challenging to change buying habits in the short term - especially for FMCG products. People form preferences and habits to buy certain products over a longer period of time. The fact that we managed to create such a drastic change in people's preferences in just five weeks is incredible and something we are very proud of," says Vigebo.

But were there any sales?

- The results exceeded all expectations! Awareness of Q Fresh chocolate milk and the association with "Norway's best" increased significantly during the period. In addition, it was gratifying to see that Q Fresh chocolate milk climbed past other competing products in the category in terms of awareness and association," says Bjurstedt.

Sales increased by 18% in weeks 42-44 when the sponsorship was running, compared with before the sponsorship.

-Sponsorship on Non Stop gave good results for a smart investment. It was particularly gratifying to see that in weeks 41 to 44 we became the market leader with Norway's Best Q Fresh Chocolate Milk" says Pål Rasmussen, Brand Manager at Q-meieriene and a satisfied customer of Aller Media.

Superb results meant that Q Fersk is already working on another sponsorship with Non Stop, and Aller Media delivered the Qulest results on a sponsorship ever!