To ensure that there is a direct link to the key target market (mothers around the country), Clover has incorporated a word of mouth campaign as a key element to the overall repositioning campaign.

Sherian King, Clover’s brand manager for milk and cheese says, “Clover is making use of South Africa’s first specialist word of mouth marketing agency, Haveyouheard.”

Haveyouheard has been creating conversations and making powerful connections for South Africa’s top brands since 2008, establishing themselves as South Africa's most effective and experienced word of mouth experts, whilst fast becoming a global leader in cross-channel methodologies. And with research from WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) stating that the driving forces behind purchase decisions are 54% word of mouth, companies should consider how this facet can benefit them.

Owned and operated by Jason Stewart and Ryan McFadyen, the Haveyouheard team focuses on prompting influential individuals to share their opinions with their peers regarding clients’ products, as peer-to-peer recommendations are considered the most credible, valuable and actionable form of marketing.

King adds, “Clover first approached Haveyouheard to drive the conversation around Clover’s new positioning and 'Way Better' philosophy. ‘Way Better’ is the idea that Clover aspires to be ‘Way Better’ in everything we do, namely through our products, the way we conduct business and interact with consumers.”

McFadyen, managing partner at Haveyouheard, says that they drew inspiration from the Clover Mama Afrika project. “This is a social upliftment programme which, by supporting the real pillars of any community – the Mamas – Clover has been able to actively reach more than 12 000 children and 3 500 elderly, many of whom have been abused, or are orphaned, homeless or victims of HIV/AIDS. This project seeks to assist and support communities at grassroots level. By empowering the Mamas – the backbone of most communities – Clover is helping them to not only take care of themselves, but also the people around them,” he says.

By taking this philosophy into account, Clover and Haveyouheard realised that mothers are not only the backbone of the communities in need, but all mothers are the pillars of their respective families. From this sprang the idea for the Clover Way Better Moms programme. The Clover Way Better Moms programme aims to empower mothers around the country to become way better moms through providing them with the knowledge and tools to be way better in everything they do.

Initial sessions took place during October and November in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. The sessions were social gatherings of hand-picked, like-minded and influential moms who have the power to become 'Way Better' and help those around them to become 'Way Better'. At the evening events, the moms were told about all the latest changes at Clover. They were educated around areas of interest and McFadyen explained what makes Clover’s products great, such as the 55 quality tests that Clover performs on every litre of milk and the fact that Clover sources their milk from only 270 specially selected farms. The moms were also introduced to the different elements and characters of the new Clover campaign and they had an opportunity to interact with the new Clover brand elements. At the end of the evening the mothers each received a goodie bag with some of Clover’s products to test with their families.

Knowing that there are only a limited number of people that can be reached face to face, Haveyouheard and Clover are also busy building an online community where moms can interact with the brand as well as other moms. This Facebook page, called Clover Way Better, already features various fun activities such as competitions, interesting posts and articles, great recipes and give-aways. The page will also occasionally feature advice from top nutritionists, baking experts and the like, who will share their knowledge through the Facebook page free of charge to interested mothers. A great feature to look forward to is that these experts will also occasionally be available via the Facebook chat so consumers and moms can ask questions and have them answered by the experts live.

“We’re pleased with how these initial events have gone, and how the moms have responded. We’re really looking forward to the next more focused sessions that will be held next year as well as excited about the additional Facebook features,” concludes King.

Search for Clover Way Better on Facebook.