Fonterra turns Anchor milk from B2B product to consumer-facing brand in China

The New Zealand dairy giant joined competition in the local consumer-facing dairy market by launching its Anchor-branded UHT (ultra-high-temperature) milk. Apart from milk, cheese, cream, and butter products bearing the Anchor brand have been available in China for more than a decade.

Taking a sentimental approach four months after Fonterra's tainted whey crisis in August 2013, the campaign aims to resonate with Chinese mothers looking for high-quality imported full-cream fresh milk for their families.

Although the product is not a maternal milk powder like Fonterra's existing Anmum brand, that parallel was used because "the passion that Anchor has for nurturing its products is comparable to that of parental care", said Manoj Namboodiri (南马努), business development director of Fonterra China.

In a bid to restore confidence among consumers, every detail is "closely looked into, from the health of the cows and the grass they eat" to dairy production quality standards that are "closely abided by", added Namboodiri.

Tribal Worldwide Shanghai, the lead creative agency, created a TVC, interactive online elements and experiential events for the campaign. To drive the 'parental care' point home, a screenshot (see below) from the TV spot shows a Fonterra farmer kissing a cow.

“We knew if we could show Chinese mothers how much they [Fonterra employees] care about the quality of the milk they are producing, they would be just as moved and be able to place their trust in the safety of Anchor milk,” said Tim Cheng (郑天宇), chief creative officer of DDB Group Shanghai.

Consumers can visit the Anchor website or its Weibo or Wechat account to participate in a platform where Anchor will propose issues on a range of topics covering child education, nutrition and milk.

The target demographic will be Chinese mothers born in the '70s, '80s and '90s. Selected content contributed from 300 mothers will then be published in a 'Parenting & Nutrition' 《亲子营养“白”宝书》branded-book.

During the official launch event last Thursday, celebrity mother Hu Ke (胡可) was invited to share her personal experiences and insights into selecting milk products for her family.

Currently, Anchor's physical sales are focused in the Yangtze River Delta area and the company is servicing the rest of China through online shopping sites such as Tmall, according to Achyut Kasireddy, vice president of Fonterra China Brands, at the same launch event.