/case studies
Brand rejuvenation: Wagon Wheels
The need: This round chocolate covered biscuit with a sandwiched marshmallow centre still holds a place of affection in many people’s hearts. The problem was that because of a lack of investment Wagon Wheels sales had become a fraction of what they once were, declining five fold 1998-2008. In 2008 Burton’s Foods asked Brand Catalyst to look at how those fortunes might be reversed. Was there potential to reignite this once mighty grocery brand or had its time come and gone?
Our work: Our work involved appraisal of marketing activity over the previous five years, which included promotional and innovation ideas, actual promotional campaigns and consumer research. We interviewed the marketing team to gather as much knowledge about the brand, objective and subjective as we could. Finally, we ate a lot of Wagon Wheels and appraised them against their competitive set. We thought that the product was still right, but the positioning wasn’t.
The result: We identified the convenience retail sector as a territory within which Wagon Wheels could re-establish itself as an ideal ‘on the go’ snack, available in single units. This alongside renewed focus in the supermarket in multipacks and singles would give sales a serious fillip. Wagon Wheels subsequently saw growth of 20.4% in sales value and 10.6% in sales volume (ACNielsen, 52 weeks to WE 01.02.09).
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