How do you turn around a brand in decline? How do you restore a brand that was once a nation’s favourite? Well, that’s exactly what we are going to cover this week. We are going to break down the approach behind Defiant’s lastest campaign for Bella Italia. A brand we have been working with following a competitive pitch, beating many bigger agencies. Sound good? Let’s dive in.
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CHALLENGING TIMES
Whilst Bella Italia had long been one of the UK’s favourite restaurant chains, it had recently fallen on hard times. A perceived decline in meal & restaurant quality had driven a decline in brand consideration and sales. To make matters worse many (incorrectly) thought the brand had gone into administration.
Despite these issues, all was not lost. Over recent years the Bella team has spent considerable time, effort and money improving the brand experience. Restaurants had been revitalised. Menus had been modernised. And a new ‘A team’ had been put in place taking customer service to new highs.
Understanding the above revealed the real challenge ahead. Whilst the brand had improved greatly perception of Bella was being held back by the past. In light of this, we needed to shift perception and ultimately make people feel different about the brand.
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS
One of the many things I teach in The Stratlabs Masterclass is the importance of company truths. That despite the importance of looking at culture, your consumer and even the category…often the best strategies begin by first looking inwards. Specifically by identifying the unique strengths of your company and building out from there.
Applying this thinking to Bella one thing became apparent. Whilst many of our direct competitors try to compete on ‘Italinness’ we should not. In reality, Bella Italia is a British-born brand and would struggle to win in this overcrowded space. What, therefore, might be a better company truth to focus on?
Turning toward Bella’s heritage and the revamp it had brand had gone through, one thing became clear. Bella had always been a brand that had provided comfort to its customers. They had always been masters at creating great quality, comforting food that helps anyone feel a little better. At the same time its restaurants were also fuss-free, far from pretentious and made anyone feel welcome and comfortable.
Understanding this helped us make an important shift in our strategic focus.
SPEAK TO CULTURE
Long-time readers of this newsletter will know that fame (ie getting people to talk about your brand) is the biggest driver of brand growth. And one of the best ways to get people to talk about your brand? Simply tap into what they are already talking about (ie culture).
Turning to culture one thing became abundantly clear. Daily life in the UK had never been more uncomfortable. From a cost of living crisis to working longer hours…daily life had never been more stressful and more uncomfortable.
Understanding this enabled us to further sharpen our strategic focus. Instead of just speaking at a product level, about comforting food & restaurants, we could elevate the role the brand plays in popular culture. Simply at a time when more people were feeling uncomfortable…we could help the whole nation feel a little better.
EMBRACE THE ABSURD
With our strategic focus in place, we now turned our attention to our creative platform. We began by asking ourselves…what might be the most impactful and fame-worthy articulation of this strategy be?
Looking at our ‘The New Reality’ trend report, we knew the power of absurdity would be of particular importance in 2024. Simply in a world more bland and distracted than ever…embracing the weird and absurd is a great way for brands to secure cut-through.
With this in mind, we developed a creative platform that was simple yet absurd in expression. A platform that would not only turn heads but also bring new meaning to the Bella Italia name.
We named our creative platform ‘Feel Bella’. A platform that brings new meaning to the word Bella. A platform that also conveys how comforting the brand is and how it can make anyone feel a little better. And how did we bring this to life? In this most absurd and impactful way possible…showing everyday people being comforted by giant items from the new Bella Italia menu.
This is just the beginning, however. The ambition of ‘Feel Bella’ is both long & big. It is a platform that will last for years to come and guide all the brand does moving forward. It is a behaviour that will see the brand seek to make the entire nation ‘Feel Bella’ whenever it shows up in the world. Whether you are stressed out mums or a football fan…there are lots of brand activations coming soon, that will help everyone feel a little Bella.
Now of course I can’t reveal everything that is in the works…but keep your eyes peeled in coming weeks, months and years…
CONCLUSION
We hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Sratlabs. What are your thoughts on the campaign? We would love to know what you think, so drop us a comment in the section below. And of course, if you are looking for some big brand thinking & creativity…without the nonsense, waste and ego…why not drop us a line at Defiant.
Thanks as always for reading.
Awesome story! Thanks for sharing
I love the creative platform and the visuals that materialize the concept. I sincerely believe that advising the brand to move away from 'Italianness' is a good decision. Associating the brand with an emotional benefit like comfort, escape, and getting away from the daily routine is very pertinent.
Looking forward to seeing how the media experience and activation at the different touchpoints turn out.
Congrats!