Superfert - Kukolora Zomwe Mwafesa Campaign

MARKETING EXCELLENCE AWARDS 201815th November 2018Name of Firm: MALAWI FERTILIZER COMPANYAward Category: MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEARName of the Entry Project: KUKOLORA ZOMWE MWAFESADuration: JANUARY 2018 – JANUARY 2019Key project deliverables: 1. Successfully launch the Superfert Brand into the market. 2. Effectively create brand awareness and differentiation from competition.RATIONALE - WHY THE ENTRY DESERVES TO WIN THE AWARDMFC is using a multi-faceted approach to drive awareness of the Superfert brand name andbuild sustainable brand equity to serve the company for years to come. Innovative projectssuch as the ‘Design a bag competition’ have been a major driving force in differentiating theSuperfert brand from competitors in what’s often considered to be a generic product market.MFC blends Superfert locally, and the more revenue that’s derived from a top performingbrand, the better our job creation and other CSI initiatives. Whereas other brands areimported into Malawi, MFC is blended locally therefore ensuring we have a vested interest tocreate sustainable business practices. The Kukolora Zomwe Mwafesa campaign has been ayear of consistent and well-placed messaging, across several mediums- all leading up to anexplosive promotion to capitalise on the FISP and rainy season. It’s for these reasons we feelthe Kukolora campaign deserves the title of campaign of the year.Prepared by: David LecluseGroup Marketing Manager – Farmers World Group of companies

THE BIG IDEAMalawi Fertilizer Company (MFC) is a dominant player in the fertilizer industry in Malawi andcommands a large share in the market. MFC has a state-of-the-art bulk blending facility inLiwonde (there’s only one other facility in the country)- the Fertilizer is by Malawi for Malawi.Other brands of fertilizer are blended overseas and received into Malawi by rail or road.In the retail market, MFC only sells into Farmers World and Agora, previously selling productin bags labeled ‘Malawi Fertilizer Company’ or with the fertilizer formulation blend e.g., NPK23:10:5. There was no standardization across packaging design, colours or font. Whilst MFCis well known as “the company that makes Fertilizer” it had few positive or negativeassociations beyond that point. It was concluded that this name is non-descript and difficultto identify with and the farmers shopping from FW or Agora only knew this fertilizer as the‘fertilizer from Farmers World or Agora’. MFC on the other hand has a good relationship withcorporate clients (such as Illovo) and other large estates, so the brand name wasn’t an issue.However, to strengthen our position in the retail market, we recognized the importance tocreate a brand and build equity in the brand and strengthen the connection with smallholderfarmers. This brought about the Kukolora Zomwe Mwafesa campaign which involved a fullbrand re-launch under the name Superfert and all new packaging. And an expanded range ofservices to create differentiation through value-add are now offered in the corporate clientsector.To position and differentiate our fertilizer on the market, we knew we had to develop a brandname that was going to represent our product appropriately and we had to be creative withentrenching the name into the Malawian market.In January we began cementing the association of the Superfert brand name with the productcoming out of Farmers World & Agora, by making sure consumers knew it was the samefertilizer but with a different brand name and began speaking to a wider audience to attractnew customers.We focused on – 1. Buy-in and training at branch level – We provided technical planners to staff across the Farmers World & Agora network to better train what is essentially a network of full-time brand ambassadors about the Superfert range. The technical planner looks at application rates of different fertilizers across different crops, times of year etc. We want our network at retail level, to be the best informed about the product. No such training material was available prior to this and as a result in-shop customer advice was not at a satisfactory level.

We used the opportunity of a time slot given to us by Farmers World during their recently held road-shows, to train branch managers on the Superfert brand, using the technical planner above.2. Visually strong at branch level – MFC provided ‘Sold here’ boards and other POS material to dominate in-store at Farmers World & Agora. We also gave out hundreds of bold Superfert branded T-shirts to all the staff, to begin selling the idea of the new

brand name and simultaneously create awareness amongst our customer base. After all, store level is the most crucial and influential point of contact for any brand.3. Out of home media – To create an all year-round presence to remain top of mind, we have also moved to strategically placed out of home media. MFC has built four billboard sites in the South, and one in Kasungu with 11 more to go up in strategic points across the country before end of March next year. We own these sites, giving us the flexibility to adapt the content and messaging to suit current campaigns.4. Corporate Social Responsibility – The Superfert Design a Bag Competition was launched in September this year. A creative recycling initiative that captured the creativity of 800 students across 40 schools in the country to appeal to the rational & emotional responses driving behaviour and brand building awareness. To see a condensed report on the initiative please follow this link - http://online.pubhtml5.com/gkhu/ticg/5. Corporate Clients – To complete the branding and brand awareness spectrum, we took up primary sponsorship at the Kasasa Open in Dwangwa and Country Club Limbe in July. With our corporate clients we focus on the fact that we have a value add; because we blend our product in Malawi, we can go one step further and blend fertilizer to exact client specifications after we have analysed and tested their soil in

our state-of-the-art laboratory. Being able to manufacture crop and soil specific blends to order, is a major differentiator between MFC and the rest of the market.6. Kukolora Zomwe Mwafesa Promotion – Was launched 1 November 2018 to drive purchase (by redeeming coupons or in cash) with an incentive of prizes up for grabs. This is MFC’s busiest time of the year and expectation is to sell 70% of the year’s budget between October – January. To help us achieve this target with swift certainty, we rolled out a promotion (keeping in theme with the years brand building efforts) to further build brand awareness through increased visibility whilst offering attractive incentives. The mechanics requires customers to make a purchase of Superfert Fertilizer and write their name and details on the entry form and leave it in-store. Draws will be done monthly to boost sales and foot traffic in this busy time of year, to ensure the brand stands up and out from competitors. Key elements of the promotion are – High frequency of radio advertisements. Two road-show teams moving countrywide. Strong presence in-store with POS material. Supported by Social Media - https://www.facebook.com/SuperfertMW/

7. Standardised packaging – This was previously not done by MFC. We have put a lot of time and effort into designing new packaging for the brand complete with a brand guidelines document for the treatment of designs when sent to new suppliers. A consistent looking product maintains and develops a consistent brand image.Measurement of effectiveness“Successfully launch the Superfert Brand into the market” – We believe we have successfullyachieved this objective through a comprehensive plan of brand building and awareness.Although a single year is perceived to be short in marketing terms, to be able to baseperformance on measurable outputs, the perceived benefits have already begun to comethrough, which follows on to the second objective:“Effectively create brand awareness and differentiation from competition”- Already theperception around fertilizer sold out of Farmers World & Agora is changing – with customersspecifically referring to Superfert when asking for advice or seeking a product. Customers areusing the brand name when speaking about the fertilizer and it’s moving away from a genericreferral to ‘fertilizer sold out of Farmers World & Agora’.The billboards have also become a talking point with Branch Managers reporting that currentand potential customers refer to places where they’ve seen the billboards when seeking in-store advice about the brand or product.Demand for the Superfert product has increased with Farmers World and Agora reportingYTD increase in tonnage across several branches. Brand building and awareness is not anovernight achievement and whilst other factors (the economy, availability of product, pricing)may contribute to this positive upswing in demand, we’re sticking to our brand buildingmission and recognising the small wins where it’s due.MFC’s target for sales through Farmers World & Agora this year has been increased by doubledigits on last year, with the feedback coming back from Farmers World & Agora that they’reready and able to push higher volumes than last season. The retailers are confident that thesales promotion is going to drive the necessary foot traffic through to the branches.Thank you for reading the Superfert journey taken on this year.