MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS OF KITKAT

Kit Kat is a chocolate-covered wafer biscuit bar confection that was created by Rowntree's of York, England, and is now produced globally by Nestlé (which acquired Rowntree in 1988) with the exception of the United States where it is made under license by H.B. Reese Candy Company (a division of The Hershey Company). Each bar consists of fingers composed of three layers of wafer, covered in an outer layer of chocolate. Each finger can be snapped from the bar separately. Bars typically have two or four fingers.

DURING INCEPTION:

Initially this chocolate bar was manufacures by Rowntree. The bar launched on 29 August 1935, under the title of "Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp" and was sold in London and throughout Southern England. Rowntree's chocolate covered wafer bar was first introduced in England in 1935 and was renamed Kit Kat in 1937.

In 1937 the chocolate was remaned as ‘KitKat’. In the 1940's KitKat was exported and sold in Canada. The Kit Kat name originates from the late 17th century in London, when a literary club met at a pie shop owned by pastry chef Christoppher Catling. The group was called the Kit Kat club and took its name from an abbreviated version of the owner's name.

During the Second World War (1944) due to a shortage of ingredients including milk, Rowntree altered the recipe of Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp. The wrapper was changed to blue and the oval logo was removed along with the Chocolate Crisp. Kit Kat was written in bold. But it was again replaced by the classic red wrapper in 1947.

SLOGAN OF KITKAT:

The first use of the tagline ‘Have a Break. Have a Kit Kat’, written by the agency’s Donald Gilles, can be traced to May 1957. A year later it was used on the first television spots for the brand and ever since has been a staple of campaigns for the chocolate bar. Initially the line reflected the welcome 11am tea break – ‘elevenses’ – common to British factories. But as it became more widely used, particularly on television, the flexibility of the phrase became the key to its longevity. The benefits in taking a break from something could be applied to all manner of stressful (and potentially comedic) situations.

Below picture consists of the new package and an advert that was also created within that year to promote the new package. As you can see there is an image of the package on the advert with an arrow pointing at the logo saying 'new' and besides this seems to be a woman’s hand reaching out to the chocolate biscuits. The slogan above the images illustrates the woman’s actions, normally a packet of Kit Kat would include four bars, as you can see there are more than four and this alone suggests they must taste good. It also feels as though the woman is reaching out to take ‘more’ – and so I think this relates well to the saying above ‘…chocolate biscuits as good as these’ – it tries to promote that they are irresistible and that they taste good n order for people to buy more and for the company to gain costumers and trust.

This is another ad before using the famous tagline ‘Have a Break Have a KitKat’ during the year 1937.

Donald Gilles, executive at advertising agency JWT London, creates the classic advertising line: ‘Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat’. Since 1958, the slogan for the Kit Kat in the UK and elsewhere has been "Have a break... have a Kit Kat". However, in 1995, Nestlé sought to trademark the "Have a break" portion. After a ten year legal battle, which was contested by rival Mars, the European Court of Justice ruled on 7 July 2005 to send the case back to the British courts. In 2004, Nestlé UK used the slogan "Make the most of your break", but later returned to the original slogan.

Ads after using the tagline during the year 1950s and 1960s:

KitKat was first advertised on TV back in 1957 and had its first colour advert in 1967. The below image shows the screenshot of the first tv commercial using the line ‘Have a Break.. Have a KitKat..’

There were totally 37 tv commercials were produced between the year 1957 to 1959. Of which only 3 tv commericals used taglines KitKat made by Rowntree’ and ‘Time for a break. Time for a KitKat..’. The rest used the tagline ‘Have a Break.. Have a KitKat.’ Below are the list of some of the tv commercials done during the 60s.

Housewife: Kit Kat made by Rowntree (1955) B&W

Afternoon Break: Have a break, have a Kit Kat (1957) B&W

Office Break: Time for a break, time for a Kit Kat (1957) B&W

Driver and Clippy: Have a break, have a Kit Kat (1957) B&W

Husband and Wife: Have a break, have a Kit Kat (1957) B&W

Factory Break: Have a break, have a Kit Kat (1957) B&W

School Break: Time for a break, time for a Kit Kat (1958) B&W

Skating: Have a break, have a Kit Kat (1958) B&W

Housewife and Child: Have a break, have a Kit Kat (1958) B&W

Road menders: Have a break, have a Kit Kat (1958) B&W

Ping Pong: Have a break, have a Kit Kat (1958) B&W

Travelling: Have a break, have a Kit Kat (1958) B&W

FAMOUS PANDA AD:

During the year 1987, a famous ad was released, which depicted a photographer patiently waiting in sun and rain, trying to snap a pair of pandas in a zoo. Only while he is taking a break do they finally emerge on roller skates and he misses the entire routine. When he snaps back after finishing the kitkat, the pandas have gone inside.

This is one of the greatest hits of KitKat ad. This ad came in 30th in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Adverts" poll in 2000.

Similarly irreverent humor had been used in a 1987 commercial, No Rest for the Wicked, which followed a devil and an angel enjoying a break from the routine of their respective ‘jobs’ in the foyer of an otherworldly office building. In each (and there are dozens of TV commercials) the ‘Have a Break. Have a Kit Kat’ line worked because of its association with recognizing life’s

small defeats, rather than glorifying its triumphs. Interestingly, in the US in the 1980s the clauses were reversed so the line became the more instructive, but far more lumbering, ‘Give Yourself a Kit Kat. Give Yourself a Break’.

Launch of ‘KitKat Chunk’:

KitKat Chunky (The Big Finger) was first launched in 1999 and was that year's biggest success story. In 2005, we sold 73 million KitKat Chunkys (on average 200,000 each day!).

KitKat Chunky also comes in Minis, Snacksize and a King-Size bar called Big Breaks!KitKat chunky was officially released in May 2003 but no communications were made on the product just to make sure that the product was distributed thoroughly before making any communication.

Ad campaign of KitKat Mini (Cross word puzzle):

The main theme of this campaign is puzzles. The main concept is that people should take it easy during a break.

Why Crossword?

Crossword is a word puzzle usually in the form of a square, with black shaded squares. Crossword is the most well-known puzzle and people usually solve crosswords during a mini break.

Initially they have selected very simple background a black and white theme with minimal description. It’s easy to understand and the ads are well researched because people usually come across and enjoy solving simple crosswords during a mini break without a lot of stress.

Here there was not much link between the puzzle and the crossword. It has only a small amount of impact on the audience, the lack of chocolate in the ad may do nothing to attract the audience. If unaware of the brand people may be confused by the advertisement.

To improve this campaign they came up with 3 more crosswords to attract more people and also to increase the product exposure in the ads.

A simple word search where the word “break” is half circled reminding the audience that they need a break. Bright colors and pictures of rich chocolate were used to attract the consumer. The ripped Kit Kat package shows the hurried need to take a break. The ad’s colors are much brighter and more attractive than the original. The large picture of product and rich chocolate in the background helps explain the slogan more clearly. The slogan is in large and clear font. The words in the word search are relevant to the product.

Final ad of this campaign:

It uses color like the rustic beige, which is more eye catching that the dull black and white. The picture of the product is much bigger, with the logo imprinted on it, which will convey the message. The slogan is much larger and easier to read. The words in the word search are all relevant to the product, and the word-search would attract a larger target audience including children.

Choose a Chunky Champion 2013:

Nestlé debuted its Chunky Champion competition for Kit Kat, allowing people to choose from a selection of new flavors and vote for their favorite. The successful levels of engagement, which saw Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter win the vote and become a permanent addition to the Kit Kat range, this inspired the business to replicate its success with a £5 million multimedia campaign in 2013.

The main aim is to boost awareness and sales of Kit Kat Chunky, as well as develop its product range, Nestlé is encouraging fans of the chocolate bar to use Facebook to vote for their favourite of four new flavors: Coconut, Choc Fudge, Mint and Hazelnut. Consumers can also vote via Blippar, using the bar as a marker.

In January, Kit Kat introduced four spoof superheroes representing the new flavours via traditional media and Facebook. Kit Kat seeded videos of the heroes on Facebook ahead of the TV campaign’s launch.

A clear publishing calendar and media strategy have ensured the Facebook page is regularly populated with fresh content. This content has been regularly promoted by and amplified with Facebook Ads and Sponsored Stories to ensure maximum engagement.

In addition, fans can connect with offline initiatives such as Kit Kat’s tie-up with Capital FM’s Capital Street Stars, which saw the "Chunky Champions" make appearances around the UK. They can vote up to four times a day until 15 March, when the flavor with the most votes will be declared the winner. Nestlé is building on the success of the previous campaign, which saw hundreds of thousands of votes cast on Facebook and 11 million bars sold.

A Nestlé UK and Ireland spokesperson said: "With consumers increasingly looking to have a say in the future of their favorite brands, what better way to interact with our fans than a campaign which draws on the opinions of our consumers to develop the Kit Kat range."

Kitkat’s latest dancing babies ad:

Concept of this Ad: Breaks offer opportunities that you may otherwise miss because you’re too busy. An opportunity to see, hears, feel something new, meet new people etc. Good things happen when we take a break, and when that means witnessing happy, gurgling babies in a day care center suddenly create hip swaying music beats and swing to groovy dance moves, it brings alive the magic of this enduring brand message from Kit Kat. The idea of not missing out on a break has strong resonance with youth and this campaign carries the conversation further, in a way that is unexpected and extremely engaging.