Wellcome takes on rival in price positioning drive

Developed by McCann Erickson Guangming, the new campaign eschews traditional endorser Do Do Cheng, in favour of focusing on the trials and tribulations of a five-year-old girl, who tries to save every dollar and cent she has to buy quality time to spend with her father.

The campaign comes as inflationary fears grow in Hong Kong. Supermarket chain Wellcome’s 2008 marketing strategy attempts to address these concerns, by positioning itself as a friendly and approachable brand that understands the value of money.

The TVC, which was directed by Alfred Hau, represents a departure from Wellcome’s typical advertising, based on a popular internet tale about a girl who saves money to buy one hour of her father’s time.

The spot begins with the girl attempting to save the necessary funds. Along the way, she resists the temptation to spend, linking into the voiceover which intones: “It’s not easy to earn money, but it’s even harder to know how to spend it wisely”.

“Do Do Cheng has made a huge contribution as our brand ambassador for our low price leadership campaign since 2000, as she’s perceived as a smart shopper and trustworthy, but it’s time to bring our communications to a more profound level,” said Wellcome marketing director Dianne Chiu.

Chiu added that one of the key challenges arose from the use of a five-year-old girl. “We did not want to give her a script to mimic, we just wanted her to express herself naturally and directly.”

“When we were doing the TVC film cutting, the Sichuan earthquake occurred, so these TVC spots help remind us that family is no doubt the most important thing in our lives,” added McCann Erickson creative consultant Nick Lim. “How proud we are of this new work, especially in comparison to ParknShop. It’s so refreshing as we don’t want to shout out low price, low price, all the time.”

Chiu said Wellcome’s 60-year heritage gave it a deeper insight into its consumers, and allowed it to sustain its pricing proposition below-the-line at store level and through direct programmes.

The campaign includes two TVCs: a conventional 30-second spot, and a 15-second spot which provides information on product discounts. The campaign is also running in print and POS.

Wellcome is also rolling out eight short stories on Commercial Radio 1.