Your Brand’s Survival Guide To Conquering Next Year’s Ad Ban

High fat, salt and sugar products are all on their way to becoming a dark art for marketeers. But all is not lost, here are some tips that might just save you.

If you haven’t started thinking about this, where have you been and what have you been doing?! 

It’s been four years since the government first declared that to help tackle child obesity, they would ban HFSS (high fat, salt and sugar) product ads on TV from 9pm and implement a 24/7 digital blackout for product content. 

Well, yes. The rumours are true. Right now at least, it’s happening. 

Akin to the story of the three little pigs who built their houses from different materials, the naïve brands thought it would never happen. The frugal didn’t want to invest in something that wasn’t a certainty. But the wise ones saw this as an opportunity to get ahead of the game, and cash in early on some huff-and-puff-proof cladding. 

I know sure as hell that the big bad government wolf would tip his hat to the likes of Cadbury and McDonald’s, both of whom will be sitting pretty in their relatively storm-proof bunkers. 

To you non-believers out there, I tell you now that it’s not too late to save yourselves. Follow some of these tactics and your world won’t come crumbling down on you. 

1. Commit to, and build your brand 

Don’t mess around changing direction on a yearly basis and have confidence in your brand idea. This’ll lead to long term success and don’t think for a minute that this needs to come at the sacrifice of short-term effectiveness. These things are certainly not mutually exclusive.

Those that do it best, find new and innovative ways to tell stories and further invest in their platforms in culturally, and media relevant ways. Also, don’t forget the power of a halo effect across your portfolio; brand identities and their icons can work wonders. Think of the OG, the infamous Benson + Hedges Silk Cut campaign, who did this brilliantly. 

2. Develop a ‘next level’ retail program 

Retail is on the rise. A claim I’m sure you won’t be hearing here for the first time. Experiences and activations, both on and offline, give consumers a chance to engage with brands in a physical and arguably more memorable way.

Be it a McDonald’s peel-it-to-win competition or hiding Easter eggs online with Cadbury, in few other places do consumers spend that much time with a brand, so make sure you’re getting your in-store experiences and activations right.

There is a reason why House of Peroni, created by my Unbound partners, is still working wonders 12 years later in cities all around the world. 

3. Sweat the media 

I hope it goes without saying, but savvy media selection has never been so important. It will be damaging for brands if their creative and media agencies work in isolation. Take caution; spend wisely! Brands need to bite the bullet and pay the premiums for their NPD campaigns because consumers need to see the damn thing they’re buying.

Also, be sure to breakdown your poster briefs. This is an unrestricted luxurious channel to show off your product in all its glory, so consider the awareness driving big-builds and the conversion sites by supermarkets too.

Oh, and remember, radio ‘aint dead. Audio can conjure things that you can’t do visually. Just Eat have gone big on this of late. 

Marketeers are looking to performance tools and research more so than ever before so be prepared for conversations around ROI. Don’t shy away from testing and optimisation. Cadbury didn’t blindly walk into their IPA Effectiveness awards without proving that the work really worked. 

4. Give yourself options 

A big pot of cash for production is a luxury nowadays, so make sure you’re spending it wisely. Does your idea really need the product or will it creatively work without? Could you test and make both versions?

I urge you to consider this in your ideation phase. McDonald’s productless 'raise your arches' campaign and the simple power of Cadbury Purple should not be underestimated. 

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5. Don't be a smart a$$. Help the cause. 

If you think the LinkedIn hounds bark loudly, just wait until the ASA come after you for trying to be creative with loopholes. It’s not just about trying to work around it. Work with it.

Think about how you can innovate and adapt what you have, to reconfigure something that actually helps consumers and complies with the new regulations. Perhaps the new legislation will make sure we all do the right thing (as painful as it might be getting there). 

Maybe, just maybe, there is a small chance that this whole exercise will get brands really searching their souls to truly understand why the government are doing this in the first place. Will we see the big dogs go harder with their sustainability plans? I doubt it immediately. But change has to start somewhere, right? 

So, you see, it’s not all doom and gloom. And just like the booze and tobacco markets, people won’t just stop buying your product. Just make sure you’re ready for the storm when it hits next October because it’s fast approaching, for retail it’s already here, and only gathering speed.