Yoplait's New Branding Strategy

Fascinating article in the New York Times;

So interesting. Iā€™ve been a part of a couple of sub brand efforts in the past. My opinion as a consumer (albeit as an edgewise oddball consumer) is that the parent brand being on the label of a sub brand undoes all of the hard work that the design (and hopefully product) goes through to make something new. Just as I get sold on this beautiful new product (in this case yogurt) I see the traditional brand placed small and automatically have a skeptical thought of ā€œis this just regular old Yoplait in a fancy package?ā€

confession, I didnā€™t read the article yet. Off to a meeting, Iā€™ll read it later on and maybe have to take back my comment above :slight_smile:

Very cool article!

Iā€™m actually taking a marketing class right now as a part of my MBA program and there are so many concepts in this article that we have been learning about and discussing. Its fascinating to see how those concepts translate directly to a real life product/brand story like this.

I think by just saying ā€œFrenchā€ people will be more interested in trying it. Not because its French but because it is different and, after all Greek yogurt is so 10 years ago.

I think if it sounds exotic people will buy it because it is new and they saw it on TV or read it on a blog as the new best thing. Chipotle, Sriracha, ā€œinsert your ethnic flavor hereā€, etc.

I actually got a sample of this yogurt for free at my grocery store a few months ago and found it very good (better than yoplait and chobani). I never cared to research the brand/company and am still buying it from time to time. Very creamy, sweet and in different flavors.

French style yoghurt is an entirely different product than Greek yoghurt. Greeks, Turks, and Persians typically eat their yoghurt with hearty meals; with salads, meats, soups and rice.

French yoghurt is a dessert, but yoghurt as a dessert just isnā€™t popular. People are stepping to Greek yoghurt (it has multiplied over 4x in sales the last 10 years) simply because itā€™s a healthy part of everyday diet. Also itā€™s great exercise food in between meals to supplement protein. What they can do is make it more interesting as a dessert, aim at younger audiences or they can make a great packaging so people will want to keep the jars.

The glass jar gives it a premium/traditional feel, but I wonder about its environmental impact. And one of the things I often drop on the ground while unloading groceries from my car is the yogurt, I suppose these will shatter on impact.

They are supposed to be on store shelves this month, as soon as I try it Iā€™ll post some comments (this new branding is already having an effect on me :laughing:).

I think the graphic design of the Oui label is cluttered but still memorable in a sea of white plastic containers. There are three different styles of hand-lettering or sketching on the label which compete with each other for establishing the overall look. The ā€˜strawberryā€™ simulated writing is trite, reminds me of when some d-bag CEO has his signature on the bottom of a mass-produced letter saying how AT&T is sorry for losing my data. Everything about the label screams ā€˜big company trying to look craftyā€™ including the Yoplait in small type. I bet the designers had some bolder concepts that got polluted over time - the container is a nice shape, the reverse angle is a Yoplait brand asset, and the visible fruit flavor on the bottom looks appetizing.

The real story in the article is about a data driven CPG conglomerate trying to distill ā€˜authenticityā€™ and re-create how ā€œotherā€ brands made hit products. Marketers will have an inherent distrust of anything really new, oddball, or edgy, and thus they probably miss out for years. Reminds me of ā€œdesign thinkingā€ā€¦comes naturally to designers, and for non-designers you need multiple workshops and baloney certificates in how to thinkā€¦

I agree, it looks like a big corp bought a small dairy farm and stuck their logo on and vectorized the existing label.
Following the AIDA model, attention grabbing is of first importance in consumer buying behavior, and this one blends into generic blue/white/pastel pink packagings. There are so many original ideas you can do to draw attention with packaging. It can be complex such as the latest Nutella generative design campaign or very simple, if you look at how Coca Cola has dominated the shelves for many years. They know how to grab attention and create a desire.

I am thinking, a cork look for the top and different colorful variations of French plaid (we will call the design Yo!Plaid) for the label with very bold lettering.

I like that! Could emphasize the reverse angle of the package, and feel a little more contemporary/material-forward.

I wonā€™t be surprised if the first complaint we hear is the lids are too difficult to peel, those things are bonded to the jar!

Graphic design aside, I imagine the consumer experience of reaching for the glass container within the sea of squishy, squeezable containers will provide a considerable point of differentiation for ā€˜Ouiā€™. The relatively minimal label (compared to all the other plastic billboards of the competition) does a decent job of showcasing the glass.

ā€œIt must be delicious/better/worth more since itā€™s packaged in glass instead of plastic!ā€ is the pitch Iā€™m hearing in my head.

http://www.gpi.org/2017-clear-choice-award-winners

Not sure there was much innovation in that list. :unamused: