A study sponsored by the UK ad-industry group, Advertising Association, has discovered that own-brand food produce sold in the country’s top supermarkets is gathering a large market share: good news for the supermarkets but bad news for the advertising agencies that traditionally rely on market branded products.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Through the years 1975 to 1999, the study, conducted by Stephen Buck, a non-executive director of Taylor Nelson Sofres, focused on 52 brands to establish how well own-brand goods were doing against branded products in 26 grocery categories.
It discovered that, on average, the top crop of traditionally branded goods have lost out on around 30% market share. Those products similarly branded but without the strong investments in advertising are, while still on the shelves, competing price-wise with the own-branded store products.
Looking at the best performing supermarket chains, own-branded products accounted for 22% in those 26 categories in 1975. Now, however, the same groceries make up 70% of the market.
Some argue that, conversely, own-branded products now carry brands in their own right. A spokesman for Tesco commented: “Tesco works hard to make sure that its brand is respected like any other which has been developing brand equity for years.”
The study seems to suggest the British consumers are more influenced by price in their grocery selections than polished advertising.
Advertising and the Long-Term Success of the Premium Brand, by Dr Stephan Buck, is published by the World Advertising Research Center on 15 January (price £75, ISBN 1-84116-076-8).
