Lidl

Lidl wanted to increase its brand awareness on the Belgian market, distinguish itself from its main competitor, Aldi, and increase the brand’s likability. Rather than being perceived as a hard discounter, Lidl was looking to reposition itself as a smart discounter, a destination for shoppers from higher social groups looking for high quality, fresh products at a reasonable price. One of the key objectives was to bring so-called open non-users into Lidl’s stores. These are people who are not necessarily reluctant to consider Lidl but that nevertheless do not spontaneously go to its stores to do their shopping.

Medialaan assembled a sponsorship and product placement campaign for Lidl, alongside the agency ZIGT Media. The VTM show Mijn Pop-uprestaurant!, in which teams of two people compete to build the best temporary restaurant, was a great opportunity for the retailer to communicate with its target audience in a fresh and natural environment. The contestants were filmed shopping in Lidl stores, with the retailer’s Delicieux range featuring as a source of ingredients, and carrying tasty looking Lidl-branded boxes of fresh produce to their new restaurants. The video clips on VTM’s cooking-themed mini site (koken.vtm.be) were used to give further visibility to Lidl and its products, and the campaign was supported with a range of online and offline marketing activities.

Following the campaign, top-of-mind awareness was twice as high among viewers of Mijn Pop-uprestaurant! compared to non-viewers, and Lidl’s objective of being perceived as a smart discounter was demonstrably achieved. Viewers of the show rated the retailer more highly than non-viewers across a range of indicators, such as perception that it offers fresh and healthy produce, that it is a credible brand and an outstanding family store.