Way Better. That’s the way dairy product and beverage brand, Clover, is positioning itself in a campaign that encompasses television, print, and vitally, word of mouth. Clover believes ‘way better’ is a philosophy that isn’t just about the pay off line for all its products, but also goes to the heart of how the company operates. And that’s why the conversation with consumers began with its successful CSI project, the Clover Mama Africa social upliftment vehicle.
Jason Stewart and Ryan McFadyen, owners of HaveYouHeard, SA’s first specialist Word of Mouth marketing agency, explain how they developed the word of mouth campaign for Clover.
The agency believes strongly in the value of an honest recommendation (from a trusted friend), which has led us to build a competitive marketing agency around stimulating conversations for brands and their products. The HaveYouHeard team focus on prompting influential individuals to share their opinions with their peers regarding clients’ products as peer-to-peer recommendations are considered the most credible, valuable and actionable form of marketing.
With this in mind, we know that what we do adds real value to any organisation’s bottom line. Its high return-on-investment, measurability, reach, impact and effectiveness makes word-of-mouth marketing the indispensable addition to any successful campaign.
Clover approached HaveYouHeard to drive conversation around Clover’s new positioning and Way Better philosophy. The Way Better Philisophy was an ideal in that Clover aspired to be Way Better in everything they do, namely through their products, they way they conduct business and the way they interact with their consumers. This is where HaveYouHeard fitted in best.
HaveYouHeard drew inspiration from the Clover Mama Afrika project. A social upliftment programme which, by supporting the real pillars of any community – the Mamas – Clover has been able to actively reach more than 12 000 children and 3 500 elderly people, many of whom have been abused, or are orphaned, homeless or victims of HIV/Aids. This project assists and supports communities at grassroots level.
By empowering the Mamas – the backbone of most communities – Clover is sustainably helping them to not only look after themselves, but also the people around them.
Today the Clover Mama Afrika project supports 35 Mamas who run successful care centres throughout South Africa. Clover trains them to become proficient in such essential skills as cooking, baking, sewing, crocheting, business management, food gardening and bread baking skills. Over and above the training sessions these women are supplied with the necessary tools, equipment and infrastructure to create an income for their communities.
Taking this further, Clover and HaveYouHeard realised that not only are the Mamas the backbone of the communities in need, but all Moms are the pillars of their families. From this sprang the idea for The Clover Way Better Moms programme. The Clover Way Better Moms programme empowers mothers around the country to become better moms through providing the moms with the knowledge and tools to be way better in everything they do.
The first element of the campaign was to host intimate one on one sessions. Social gatherings of like minded, hand picked and influential moms who have the power to become way better and help those around them become way better. At these sessions moms were told about all the latest happenings at Clover, be given some of the latest or preview Clovers newest products, be educated around areas of interest and heard from inspirational guest speakers or experts in their fields ranging from child behaviour experts to chefs all providing moms with valuable knowledge.
Knowing that there are only a limited number of people that can be reached face to face, HaveYouHeard and Clover moved to build an online community where moms can interact with the brand as well as with other moms. This Facebook page, called Clover Way Better, features various fun activities such as competitions, interesting posts and articles, great recipes, giveaways and also occasionally feature some top nutritionists, bakers and the like who will share their knowledge free through the Facebook page. A unique aspect is that these experts will also occasionally be available for a period via the Facebook chat aspect of the page so consumers and moms can ask questions and have them answered live.
HaveYouHeard is SA’s first specialist Word of Mouth marketing agency.
