Weleda flexes its advertising muscles

"Our brief was to blend advertising creativity with superior brand positioning," says Kate Royce, The Jupiter Drawing Room. "As such, we decided to adopt a tongue-in-cheek approach by using the epitome of stiffness - a statue - as the foundation of the campaign. The tagline, 'For really stiff muscles' underpins the product's key message."

The advertisement's clean design and uncluttered marketing message effectively communicates a single concept to the consumer - that Weleda Arnica is the product of choice for the relief of stiff muscles. The idea of using a statue to dramatise the benefits of the product provides an instant association with Weleda Arnica that can be extended into future campaigns.

Based on the enormous success of the above-the-line campaign, Weleda's PR agency, Magna Carta, decided to build on the concept of statues as a marketing device. They launched a tactical outdoor campaign in the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, involving the placing of banners reading "For really stiff muscles" at the foot of Madiba's statue. Promoters were on site with information leaflets and product samples.

"Our idea was to engage with potential customers by providing an opportunity for them to interact with the campaign," says Lindy Fenner, Magna Carta. "Passers-by had to stop and think in order to make the connection between the banner's tag-line and Madiba's statue, which allowed them to take that involvement with the product to the next level by interacting with on-site promoters."

"The campaign's multi-media approach has provided potential customers with numerous opportunities to interact with the campaign," says Mia van Reenen, Brand Manager, Weleda. "The tactical execution of our marketing strategy has helped to boost our brand awareness while simultaneously leading to an improvement in our market share."