CASE STUDY - Contagious Magazine

case study / marmite /
Pop-up love
bloggers also helped to get the word out about the
marmite pop-up shop that lived on london’s regent
street for nine weeks at the end of 2009. around
80,000 people visited the shop which offered marmite
merchandise from t-shirts to tableware, a café selling
tea and marmite on toast for £1 and art installations
playing on the idea of love and hate.
the co-founder of london-based brand venturing
agency hot pickle and former marmite marketing
manager, rupert pick (lover), who was responsible
for creating the pop-up store, comments: ‘people said
things like “this is a religious experience” and travelled
to see it. reaction from haters was equally extreme,
with some asking, “why the hell have i been brought
in here?”’ around 2,000 people who ate in the café
wanted to see a permanent marmite store, suggesting
scope for either a flagship standalone store or multiple
pop-up shops.
marmite marketing executive, david titman (‘i’d rather
stick pins in my eyes than eat marmite’) reflects: ‘the
marmite shop was an excuse to create a home for all
our products and offered a chance to show how far we
could stretch the brand.’
Love the limelight
On the subject of brand-stretching, marmite has
introduced a stack of new products over the last few
years, including rice cakes, breadsticks and breakfast
bars, offering lovers more opportunities to consume the
brand.
it has also produced a swathe of special editions,
including marmite flavoured with guinness to nudge
young men to buy it, as well as a jar of marston’s
pedigree marmite shaped like a cricket ball during the
ashes series between england and australia last year. in
true marmite style, this was accompanied by a marmite
vs Vegemite debate and a sponsored charity cricket
anthem warbled by ex-england cricketer phil tufnell.
senior director, brand strategy at london brand
consultancy landor associates, james withey (‘i quite
like it’) believes that strong brand-management has helped
marmite stave off the threat from own-label rivals to which
other brands have fallen victim during the recession.
he says: ‘it has never lost its clear communication and
strong visual identity – it has an iconic bottle and label,
and marmite feels like it’s a specific thing; people know
it’s yeast extract, but marmite defines its own category.’