Innocent scraps Village Fete to focus on health benefits of products
LONDON - Innocent has axed its Village Fete summer event to focus its marketing investment on promoting the health benefits of its products.
The company claimed that the savings will enable it to double its spend on flagging up the health credentials of its veg pots, smoothies and squeezies.
The Fete activity, handled by experiential agency Sledge, began in 2007. It replaced Innocent's Fruitstock free music event, which it had run for four years.
The Village Fete was a family event held over two days in Regent's Park, London, which attracted 50,000 people in its first year. The final Fruitstock concert, held in 2006, attracted more than 150,000 people and raised £35,000 for charity.
'People are expecting us to do things a little differently,' said Innocent marketing dir-ector Thomas Delabriere. 'We ran Fruitstock for four years and the Village Fete for two years, and we felt it was time for something else.'
Next month, the brand is to launch a £1.2m TV advertising campaign, its first TV activity since January 2008.
Last month, Coca-Cola invested £30m in a minority stake in Innocent believed to be between 10% and 20%.
Analysis: Innocent's big moment,
Event attendances
Village Fete (ticketed - paid for, non-profit)
- 2007: 50,000
- 2008: 40,000 (Innocent claims attendance was hit by rain on the Sunday)
Fruitstock (not ticketed)
- 2003 (first year): 30,000
- 2006 (final year): 150,000+
Innocent smoothies
Comments
Adam Russell - 06/05/2009
Unfortunately the signs all point to a company that has lost sight of what made it what it is. They shouldn't have ever even started charging for tickets to these events - to cancel them altogether is to drive a sledgehammer through their own brand community. It's that community that keeps people buying Innocent rather than switching to a cheaper brand. When consumers will be looking more than ever for reassurance that the brand has maintained it's core values and identity this is a very ballsy and some would say mis-guided move.
IAN IRVING - 08/05/2009
Innocent has not lost sight of its roots or indeed the values that have created such huge consumer advocacy over the years. It is a fact of life that success means growth and growth needs funding. The guys at innocent had deliberated long and hard about the investment needs in order to expand into new markets but they have ensured that the involvement of a new shareholder will not in any way damage the essence and roots of the brand. In terms of the fete and its cancellation and the issue of charging for tickets, etc. the Fete was conceived out of a need to ensure that the live experience was a safe one and one that met the ethos of the brand. Fruitstock had become a victim of its own success and audience numbers grew at such a rate that is was no longer seen as a safe family orientated event. Introducing a ticketing system ensured that the health and safety of all the visitors could be properly maintained whilst the extra funding enabled the creation of a more immersive and engaging experience. Extensive research was undertaken pre-event planning to gauge the views of the public and the innocent followers about charging for and all the feedback led to the final decision to charge. The public said it would be fine if it meant additions and improvements regarding things such as safety, crowd control, food & drink, ablutions etc. etc. The sale of tickets to an event of this nature is nothing new and one thing that gets forgotten is that ticket sales raised tens of thousands of pounds for a variety of innocent's charities. The cancellation of the village fete is in no way connected to the financial climate; it is a decision based on future strategy and the need to make sure the fans and consumers are getting the right message. Watch this space for something new from innocent, something that will deliver on engagement as well as brand values.