Three Crown Milk, competition as a positioning tool

Three Crowns Milk has grown to become a household name in the dairy market amidst other products in that category. This report digs into the journey of the brand and how its new initiative, Three Crowns Mum of the Year is being deployed as a positioning tool, writes Chinwe Agbeze

The dairy market remains one of the highly saturated markets in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Little wonder, the number of new entrants into the category seems to be growing on a consistent basis. Till date, the diary market is largely one of the categories in the Nigerian market where competition thrives consistently. For good measure, development such as this was seen as a sign of improvement in the economy as the country continues to attract investment portfolio from such quarters. Aside the fact that the development has stimulated the market, the level of competition appears to be on the rise as brands try to outwit one another. But over time, the adoption of value propositions by the brands has clearly helped in differentiating one from the other. Beyond the differentiation benefit, the use of value proposition has even become more relevant in legitimising consumption among consumers. Over the years, many brands have tried to latch on their value propositions to grow consumptions with little or no result. Notwithstanding, some of the brands have witnessed slight improvement with consumption pattern moving up slightly. But for Three Crowns Milk, the adoption of mothers appeared to have paid off significantly as the brand continues to gain market share consistently. With a tagline ”Healthy Mums, Happy Families”, the brand took the proposition to a new level as it launched out with a communication campaign that has taken a life of its own. To many analysts, the campaign was considered strategic given the important place occupied by mothers in the family. Since the launch of the campaign, it has been one cheering news or the other.
With a determination to reinforce its presence in the mind of consumers, the management of Friesland Campina came out with another initiative tagged “Mum of the Year” competition. Since the birth of the competition, the brand has not only witnessed growth of immense proportion, it has consistently contributed in improving its sales figure. Findings obtained from consumers particularly mothers showed that at least one out of every 10 homes now take Three crowns Milk on regularly basis. A cross section of those who spoke stressed that their relationship with the brand stemmed from their ‘contact’ with the initiative.
Beyond the rise in consumption pattern, the brand is said to have also experienced exponential growth on the social media since the commencement of the initiative. Between now and the time when the initiative was launched, Three Crowns Milk’s fan base on facebook alone has grown from zero to 336,552. For consumers including mothers, the different social media platforms for the brand have become much more engaging. Prior to the grand finale, few consumers were also selected to witness the event.
From any angle one chooses to look at it, it is clear that the initiative has already triggered the interest of mothers and families as many of them are now beginning to show interest in the competition. Records available from past three editions showed that participations have grown in geometric progression.

Testimonials

Since the commencement of the initiative, consumers have been rewarded with varying degree of prizes including an all -expense paid trip to Dubai.
At the 2017 Mum of the Year Competition, 20 entries were said to have stood out among the lot as six mums made the final cut. The list of mums that scaled the hurdle includes Doyin Olaiya, Oluwakemi Alonge, Eziamaka Ogechukwu, Gloria Ojoh, Mosunmola.A, and Ezinna Ibe.
At the end, Oluwakemi Alonge came top ahead of Eziamaka Ogechukwu and Gloria Ojoh who came second and third respectively. While Oluwakemi was rewarded with an all-expense paid trip to Dubai alongside other gifts, Eziamaka and Ojoh went home with double door refrigerator and washing machine respectively. Besides that, the two runners up were also given 8 cartons of Three Crowns Milk packs.
At the grand finale held in Lagos recently, finalists were taken through series of smart activities. Some of the activities include dancing skills, jigsaw puzzle and fitness challenge.
For past winners of the competition, the joy of embarking on all expense remains evergreen. Few of them who shared their experiences relished the moments while on the journey.
Sharing her experience, the 2016 Mum of the Year winner, Nkechi Brayila said the trip was an eye opener for the family as it afforded the family the opportunity to see the world around them.
She said” The experience was nice because that was my first time of travelling out of the country. Before now, I had never been to the airport; Dubai trip was my first time to go anywhere outside of Nigeria. When I got to the airport, people were still congratulating me. Even when I got to Dubai, they also congratulated me. My daughter and I went sightseeing around the city”.
While urging women to pay adequate attention to their health, she tasked them to stay fit by exercising regularly.
Like Nkechi, Oluwakemi Ojo, the 30 year-old mother of one, who emerged the 2017 Three Crowns Mum of The Year just arrived from an all-expense paid trip to Dubai with her family. She expressed gladness to the management of Three Crowns Milk for making the journey an exciting experience.
She said” I am most delighted with this trip. I and my family really had fun during the entire duration of the trip. It was an opportunity to see beautiful environment, meet new people from different part of the world. We had time to visit landmark sites in Dubai which made the journey more exciting. In a nutshell, it was an experience that would remain etched in our memories. The management of Three Crowns Milk must be commended for keeping to their promise and giving families an experience to remember.”