Why Tyrrells is spending £2.5m on a TV advertising campaign

Founded by William Chase, a potato farmer, 15 years ago, Tyrrells has gone on to become one of the most popular crisp brands in Britain today. Leveraging its “premium ingredients” USP, the business was sold to Investcrop for £100m in 2013, a private equity firm which then sold Tyrrells again in 2016 for three times that amount.

To find out about its latest promotional push, involving TV advertising, Real Business caught up with Tyrrells marketing director Adam Draper.

(1) How has Tyrrells’ approach to marketing changed in the last few years?

Historically Tyrrells has marketed itself via a great pack design, social media and PR. Whilst this has worked for the brand, the time has come to enter into more mainstream advertising to increase the awareness of the brand and drive sales to the next level. We launched our first TV advertising campaign this year and have just secured a sponsorship with the RFU.

(2) What outside forces has driven those changes?

All brands reach a stage where they cross from niche to mainstream and Tyrrells needs to appeal to a wider group of consumers by expanding its awareness and distribution. There is plenty of opportunity for Tyrrells to grow as consumer trade-up to a more premium hand-cooked crisp.

(3) How did the sale Amplify Snacks change the way in which Tyrrells attracts customers?

Amplify’s purchase of Tyrrells has been a positive step, both in terms of a new experienced fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) leadership team, a renewed focus on product quality and investment into marketing. Amplify simply wants to delight consumers with the most authentic and best tasting premium snacks and that is what we intend to do to grow.

(4) Why has the business decided now is the right time to embrace TV advertising?

The Tyrrells brand has combined retail sales are £56m retail sales value, with penetration growing 35 per cent over the last two years (14 per cent to 19 per cent). Despite this, there are many people who are not aware of Tyrrells and the fact that we make delicious hand-cooked crisps from the finest ingredients. We think this is the right time to tell that story and drive value into the crisp category.

(5) What are the main objectives with this push?

To drive brand awareness and trial of Tyrrells, growing our brand market share and trading more shoppers into the premium hand-cooked crisps category.

(6) How do you go about budgeting for a big TV campaign?

Budgets are set by the job that needs to be done and benchmarked against best-in-class investment levels for driving consumer awareness.

(7) What advice would you give to smaller businesses when it comes to marketing products?

For a small business, I would recommend being building a distinctive brand that has authenticity at its heart and never compromising on product quality. It is easy to take short-cuts but to succeed in the long run a brand needs to be consistent and ensure that it stays true to itself as many consumers today can smell a fake and are quick to leave brands that don’t deliver on promises.

Have a look at the new Tyrrells TV advert

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