Whitehall-Robins Augments Centrum With Eye on Bayer One-A-Day Herbals

Brandweek, Nov 22, 1999 by Christine Bittar

American Home Products' Whitehall-Robins subsidiary is launching two Centrum supplement lines next year, one targeting a young, active audience and the other offering herb/vitamin/mineral formulas that virtually mimic those of Bayer's well-received One-A-Day herbal blends line.

The two lines, Centrum Performance and Centrum Focused Formulas, respectively will account for a spike in the Centrum media budget in 2000 to $60 million, trade sources said. In 1998, it spent $35 million, per Competitive Media Reporting.

Centrum Performance, backed by $15 million in ads, will be the first mass brand specifically targeting a market for nutritional supplements served mainly by health-food stores. Going after active or worn-out adults 25-39, Performance will air TV ads via agency Carrafiello, Diehl, Irvington, N.Y., employing the tag, "For the Vitality of Your Mind & Body," trade sources said. Print and Internet banner ads are also in the mix for the second half of next year.AHP will generate sampling at health clubs and sporting events, while building awareness via a pr and satellite media blitz fronted by a new spokesperson, likely an athlete or celebrity FSI drops are scheduled for Feb. 27,April 30 and Aug. 6. Other promos include $4 shelf coupons and brochure and bottle cap rebates.

Premium-priced to Centrum's flagship Centrum Multi multiple vitamin, at $13.99 per 75-count bottle versus $8.99, Centrum Performance essentially is multi spiked with ginseng, ginkgo herbs and extra B vitamins.

Meanwhile, Centrum Focused Formulas, backed by a $10 million launch campaign late in the first quarter, will go directly after Bayer's popular One-A-Day Specialized Blends line, credited with helping grow the One-A-Day line by 14%, and individual branded SKUs like Warner-Lambert's Quanterra, with six vitamin-and-herb varieties targeting 45-and-over adults: Bone Health, Energy Mental Clarity Stress, Heart and Prostate.

W-R will tout the line as "a blend of select nutrients for specific health needs." Each bottle contains a 25-30 day supply priced around $10.

To drive trial, FSIs for $1-1.50 will drop on March 5,May 7,Sept. 10 and Nov. 12, plus store brochures and bottles will include $2 and $3 coupons and rebates.

The push comes as Centrum Multi and Centrum Silver (its multiple vitamin for adults over 50) turn in solid performances as the top-selling vitamin brands, but need to stay ahead of proliferating generic and higher-end private-label offerings. Centrum sales rose 5% to $259 million for the year ended Oct. 10, per Information Resources Inc., while Silver sales rose 8% to $129 million. Private label brands collectively lead the $818 million category and their growth matches the category's at about 4%.