Seventeen Years of Consumer Love: The Maltesers Bunny
Most product launches fade after the first year.
The Maltesers Bunny? It’s been earning love letters from consumers for 17 years.
We’re incredibly proud of the pivotal role Brand Development played in helping the Mars’ Seasonal Team create this much-loved, seasonal icon …
Seventeen Year Evolution From Idea to Seasonal Icon
How The Maltesers Bunny Was Born
Way back in 2008, Mars’ Seasonal Team challenged us to help them disrupt the Easter self-treat category.
Cadbury’s Creme Egg dominated ‘Easter self-treating’ … and Mars’ seasonal offerings were seen as a poor second best.
We kicked off an insight-led Innovation Sprint where we gathered insights, brainstormed ideas, ate a lot of chocolate, crafted concepts and co-created with super-consumers. After a couple of months of intensive work, the MaltEaster Bunny was born.
Within just 12 weeks of launch, the Bunny had already generated £3.3m sales and was clearly going to be a runaway success.
It All Started With Insight
We gathered together some of Creme Egg’s most dedicated fans …
We observed them eating the product.
We analysed their experiences … and explored their emotions.
We mapped out all the dimensions that made the Creme Egg such a success.
Then, having analysed why they were important, we set out to beat Creme Egg on every single measure.
We used the insights we’d gained to shape every element of the solution.
How Bunnies Were Born
We worked seamlessly with the Mars team throughout the process.
The proposition, the branding and the product design all had to be lively and fun.
From the use of the bunny as the design hero – to the jaunty angle of his cheeky pose. Every element was carefully considered to maximise engagement and optimise the eating experience
Launch Fast and Learn
Speed was of the essence as Mars wanted to be ready for the Easter season.
We co-opted both Creme Egg-loving and Creme Egg-hating consumers for conflict co-creation groups to simultaneously assess and fine-tune the concept.
Rather than test the concept to death and move cautiously, the Seasonal team backed their judgement and launched in under a year.
Within 18 months we were working on range extensions like Mini-Bunnies and the MerryTeaser Christmas Reindeer…
The Bunny Goes From Strength to Strength
When this journey started, the arrival of Cadbury’s Creme Eggs marked the start of Easter for most UK consumers, but now the appearance of Maltesers Bunnies, Baby Bunnies & Bunny Eggs are what really lift consumers’ spirits and unlock the joy of Spring!
“Brand Development and I worked together in partnership to bring to market two game-changing NPDs.
Inspiring and leading cross functional workshops and enabling the distillation of fresh insights into concepts and then into compelling finished product briefs – they were a fantastic collaborator with a perfect combination of creative yet practical input.
The NPD we developed enhanced our brands and generated significant and lasting commercial success.”
Category Director, Mars Occasions
We’ve Got The Tools To Help You Disrupt!
However big your innovation challenge, however tight your timing, or however modest your budget … we have the agile insight, ideation & co-creation tools that will help you generate the growth you need.
Give us a call on +44 1491 411272, or connect with David or Joanna via LinkedIn
We custom-build solutions for every client – that deliver brilliant results!