Vegemite Brand
2
MARKETING FOCUS "ÍOLtDLY M D E IN tJSTR U SINCE 19Z3 VEGEMITE CELEBRAT ES ITS 8 5TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR BRAND STORY VEGEMITE Vegemite is today considered an iconic Australian brand, despite its hunible beginnings as pure vegetable extract . ^^ft ^ K egemite's first appearance on ^ ^ & ^ ^ V Australian grocsry shelves ^H^V occurred in 1922, when chemist ^^^V Dr Cyril Callister was hired by ^^V the Fred Walker Company to develop a vitamin B spread. Accompanying the product's launch was a c ampaign in the form of a competition, offering Aussies the chance to name th e spread. The prize was £50 and it was won by Walker's own daughter who chose the name Vegemite. In 1923 , the spread was launched in groceries around the country with the description: "Delici ous on sandwiches and toast, and improves the flavo ur of soups, stews and gravies." Immediately prior to the outbreak of World War II. Vegemite gained official product endorsement from the British Medical Association, which allowed the spread to be advertised in the Australian MedlcalJournal. Doctors recommended Vegemite as a Vitam in B- rich, nutritionally balanced food. After World War 11 , Australia experienced a post-war baby boom, which created a huge market for Vegemite, Infant Welfare Centres soon recommended babies have their quota of Vitamin Bl,B2andNiacin. In 195 0 Vegemite moved under the Kraft Foods umbrella and the company has si nce c onsisten tly reinforced the food value and "Australian-ness" of Vegemite. If asked, most Aus tralians could sing the Happy Little egemites jingle which was written by advertising agency J.Walter Thompson, and first performed on radio in 1954. Two years later, Kraft ad apted the popular campaign for a television audience. It showed healthy children in happy scenes. This campaign continued intermittently on radio and television until the late 1960s, The " Happy litt le V egemites" campaign was then replaced with other commercials depicting Vegemite as a nutritional food for people of all ages. But in the iate 1 980s, the original commercials were colourised so that new generations of Australians could experience the nostalgia of Vegemite, The Happy little Vege miiesjingle still plays through all Vegemite commercials, securing its place in the marke t. As Vegemit e celebrates its B5th birthda y this year, it is still foun d in many Australian homes. As Kraft directed its m arketing towards families, consumers began associating Vegem ite with their childhood. Along with celebrating Vegemite's 80th birthday in 2003, the brand launched the "Spread the Smile" campaign, associating the spread with childhood memories. Today, Kraf t hopes the future for Vegemite is - to quote a line from its early advertisements - "as bright as bright can be' • IF ASKED, MOST AUSTRALIANS COULD SING THE EAPPY LITTLE V MIT S JINGLE W HICH WAS WRITTEN BY ADVERTISING AGENCY J, WALTER THOMPSON, AND EIRST PERFORMED ON RADIO IN 1954, O I AT A GLANCE The na me Vegemite was created in 1923 thro ugh a nationwide competition with a prize of £50, After the success of the limited edition "Vegemite Plate" in 2000. the "Vegemite Mug" promotion was launched. Multi-purpose jars were introduced and once the jar was empty it could be used as an egg cup, salt and pepper shaker or mustard pot (com- plete with spoon), Vegemite was advertised in the Australian Medical Journal and doctors increasingly recommended it as a nutritio nally balanced food. The Vegemite logo is now embossed on the top of the lid and the back label carries a short story about how the spread came to be. Written with the help of 4 6 BANDT COM AU OCTOBER 24 2008
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Transcript of Vegemite Brand
8/11/2019 Vegemite Brand
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/vegemite-brand 1/2
MARKETING FOCUS
"ÍOLtDLY
M D E IN tJSTR U
SINCE 19Z3
VEGEMITE CELEBRATES ITS 8 5TH
ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR
B R A N D S T O R Y
V E G E M I T E
Vegemite is today considered an iconic
Australian brand, despite its hunible
beginn ings as pure vege table extract .
^ ^ f t ^ K egemite's firs t appearance on
^ ^ & ^ ^ V Austra l ian grocsry shelves
^ H ^ V occu rred in 1922, when chemist
^ ^ ^ V Dr Cyr il Call is ter was h i red by
^ ^ V the Fred Walker Company to
develop a vitamin B spread. Accompanying the
product's launch was a campaign in the form of a
competition, offering Aussies the chance to name
th e
spread.
The prize was £50 and it was won by
Walker's own daughter who chose the name
Vegemite. In 1923 , the spread was launched in
groceries around the country with the description:
"Delicious on sandwiches and toa st, and improves
the flavo ur of soups, stews and gravies."
Immediately prior to the outbreak of World
War
II.
Vegemite gained official product
endorsement from the British Medical
Association, which allowed the spread to be
advertised in the Australian MedlcalJournal.
Doctors recommended Vegemite as a Vitam in B-
rich,
nutritionally balanced
food.
After World War 11, Australia experienced a
post-war baby boom, which created a huge m arket
for Vegemite, Infant Welfare Centres soon
recommended babies have their quota of Vitamin
B l ,B2andN iac in .
In 195 0 Vegemite moved under the Kraft Foods
umbrella and the company has since c onsisten tly
reinforced the food value and "Australian-ness" of
Vegemite. If asked, most Aus tralians could sing the
Happy Little egemites jingle which was writte n
by advertising agency J.Walter Thompson, and
first performed on radio in 1954.
Two years later, Kraft ad apted the popular
campaign for a television audience. It showed
healthy children in happy scenes. This campaign
continued intermittently on radio and television
until the late 1960s,
The "Happy litt le V egemites" campaign was
then replaced with other commercials depicting
Vegemite as a nutritional food for people of all
ages. But in the iate 1 980s, the original
commercials were colourised so that new
generations of Australians could experience the
nostalgia of Vegemite,
The
Happy little
Vege miiesjingle still plays
through all Vegemite comm ercials, securing its
place in the marke t. As Vegemite celebrates its
B5th birthda y this year, it is still foun d in many
Australian homes.
As Kraft directed i ts m arketing towards
families, consumers began associating Vegem ite
with their childhood. Along with celebrating
Vegemite's 80th birthday in 2003, the brand
launched the "Spread the Smile" campaign,
associating the spread with childhood memories.
Today, Kraf t hopes the future for Vegemite is - to
quote a line from its early advertisements - "as
bright as bright can be' •
IF ASKED, MOST
AUSTRALIANS COULD
SING THE
EAPPY LITTLE
V MIT S
JINGLE
WHICH WAS WRITTEN BY
ADVERTISING AGENCY
J, WALTER THOMPSON,
AND EIRST PERFORMED
ON RADIO IN 1954,
O I
AT
A G LA N CE
The name Vegemite was created in 1923 thro ugh
nationwide competi tion with a prize of £50 ,
After the success of the limited edition "Vegemit
Plate"
in 2000. the "Vegemite Mug" promotion wa
launched.
Multi-purpose jars were introduced and
once the jar was empty it could be used as an egg
cup,
salt and pepper shaker or mustard pot (com-
plete with spoon),
Vegemite was advertised in the Australian Medic
Journal and doctors increasingly recommended it
as a nutritio nally balanced food.
The Vegemite logo is now embossed on the top o
the lid and the back label carries a short story
about how the spread came to be.
Written with the help of
46
B A N D T C O M A U
OCTOBER 24 2008
8/11/2019 Vegemite Brand
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/vegemite-brand 2/2
REFERENCE
'VEGEMITE' 2008, B&T Magazine, 58, 2679, p. 46, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, view
April 2014.
