Fuck off Aptamil...

[MsFox]

...with you Facebook targeted adverts.

Since announcing my pregnancy on Facebook, I have been targeted by so many formula companies advertising 'baby clubs'. Aptamil are offering a free polar bear, and '1 to 1 advice'.... I wonder if this advice includes breastfeeding advice? No? Oh... no money in breastfeeding I suppose...

Also, LITR, your point about HV's and MW's downplaying BF... I for one have been advised on several occassions in the past to supplement BF with formula, and I know of plenty others given the same advice.

Lady, you ask: "Do they receive funding, donations or whatnot from FF companies? "

Yes, they do.

There are scolarships, competitions, prizes and awards given to HCPs by formula companies. They also get training days. Oh and there are the branded pens, mugs, post-it notes, lanyards, diary covers and other bits and pieces. Most of the professional journals have several ads in them.

Reaching HCPs is a very important strand in marketing strategies.

Is anyone really that desperate for a plush bear ??? I have a whole nursery of them - send me your address and I will happily post you one. And they won't have anyone's logo on them.

Aptimil's brand strategy is really interesting and worthy of study. I think the way they use trade tactics and market to HCPs is brilliant because they reach higher income mums through 'medical' endorsement and can pocket another 10 - 20p a carton versus their sister product C&G (which is essentially same product). As someone mentioned on here their packaging is very stripped down and appealing to ABC1s - essentially it looks like a pharmaceutical brand and very official.

I've never seen any brand defended as much and the way people always mention it by name. Even to generate the desire to own a cuddly toy with the brand name is a mark of a superior formula.

Changing my last sentence to:

"To generate the desire to own a cuddly toy with the brand name is a mark of a premium brand."

Hope that makes more sense.

That's really interesting TondelayoSchwarzkopf. Funny thing is, I don't think I remember seeing Aptamil generally stocked. I wonder if it was there, but I just didn't notice the pared down packaging.

Maybe pared down is wrong phrase. Certainly more minimalist and pharmaceutical looking though.

It really is, now that i think about it.

Yes, Aptamil really do try and market themselves as the 'premium' formula. Even the fact that it is more expensive is designed to suggest that it is a superior product (when essentially, they are all the same).

They also try and market themselves to middle class mums by doing the whole "if you decide to move on from breastfeeding" thing. This is the group where breastfeeding rates are highest, but amongst all groups a large percentage use fomula at some stage.

They must know their market. Of the mums I know, I'd say 75% of them use Aptamil. We are squarely in their demographic.