Rebranding Oatly
Explore Oatly's current branding strategy and recommendations
for growth and expansion.
Oatly's Reputation
Value Proposition
Functional Benefits: Dairy-free alternative to milk with maximum nutritional value
Emotional Benefits: Helping the environment through their vegan ingredients & with profits going towards anti-waste initiatives
Self-Expressive Benefits: enhancing one's social self by seeming on trend/hip & having an environmentally friendly and pro-social reputation
Personality Statement
Model type of Oatly:
Relationship Basis Model
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Oatly ads use colloquial language and their message is meant to be authentic and therefore, trustworthy.
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Their ads are minimalistic, plain and just feature text. They want to persuade consumers that Oatly is interpersonal and not perplexing like other brands.
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Oatly interacts with the consumer like a human rather than a company. Their messages are transparent.
Positioning Statement
To target the "stealth health" community in search of category, non-dairy alternatives, only brand Oatly gives you the benefit of non-dairy milk that is textually similar to whole milk and includes transparent ingredients that are good for you and the planet.
Solidification In The Market
Ideas To Make Oatly Stand Out
1. Oatly's Instagram will curate a mini-cooking segment, shown through "reels."
a. The show will air during the holiday season to showcase healthy dessert drinks that are easy to make with Oatly (ex: mocha semi-freddo, vegan eggnog latte, etc.)
b. This approach will help consumers differentiate Oatly from other milk-alternative brands by...
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Showing young & funny millennials creating the drinks (further emphasizing authenticity.)
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and will show that you can ONLY make these drinks with Oatly because it is the only froth-able oat milk-alternative that is texturally identical to milk.
c. People who leave a like and tag 3 friends will have a chance to win an Oatly package with Oatgurts, ice cream, spread, and milks.
2. A weekly Spotify podcast/Youtube talk show serious showcasing Oatly's values
a. Oatly will make a series on youtube (converted into a podcast on Spotify) to promote sustainability, environmentalism, and health.
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Topics will be covered such as how oats are sourced sustainably, why oats over almonds/macadamia nuts/cow milk, how Oatly minimizes water usage in sites, etc.
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This will help strengthen transparency
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Oatly will use two young millennial speakers in each video to develop the personality of the brand with realistic and sarcastic friends.
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A QR code will be scannable to listen to the show on the milk cartons.
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Digital Plan
1. Oatly social media accounts.
a. Oatly needs to revamp their TikTok account with relevant videos (e.g. cooking videos, humorous videos using on-the-rise sounds, hashtags, and trends)
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These videos will be linked onto the Whisk App as well as Pinterest to gain a greater following
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They can create audios for people to duet challenges and organically generate conversation about the brand
b. Oatly should hire a social media rep to comment on TikToks and create interactions using relevant lingo
c. They should reach out to micro-influencers to encourage conversation about Oatly and get people interested in the brand with affiliate links​
2. Oatly App
a. Oatly will create an app exclusively for new product releases, coupons/deals, and links to purchase merch. To tap into the "auditory market," they could feature a podcast about environmental care, health, etc. as well as place the created playlist on their website.
3. Product placement
a.Oatly should partner with popular streaming platforms to feature the product in shows, Popular shows on HBO that target millennials and gen-zers are "Sex Lives of College Girls," "Genera+ion," and "Hacks."
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They can also partner with Hulu shows to subtly feature the oat milk (e.g. "Mix," "This is Us," and "Black-ish."
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... and Netflix shows such as "Derry Girls," "Sex Education," and "Atypical."
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These shows should align with Oatly's goals to further improve their image of "positivity for the world," and "wokeness"​
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Line Extensions
1. Create an overnight oats line
a.It perfectly targets the stealth health community because
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It supposedly keeps your stomach fuller for longer as it is high in fiber and helps increase the natural insulin in your body
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The starch and acid, when soaked overnight, allows for more nutrients to be absorbed
b. It is an "on-trend" recipe amongst Millennials and Gen-Z
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A perfect and quick breakfast item for busy and work obsessed people in this age range
c. Just having the word "oat" within the company name, Oatly could easily withstand competition because consumers already associate Oatly with high quality oats and delicious taste
d. Popular competitors in the oat milk category do not have this product as a line extension like Chobani Oat, Silk Almond Milk, and Planet Oat.
Oatly as a Challenger Brand
1. Oatly Giant Carton Pop-Up Immersive Experience
a. Oatly should set up a walk-in milk carton museum where people can try the oat milk and write their opinion of the milk on the outside of the giant carton, whether good or bad. (This aligns with their brand essence of authenticity and honesty.)
2. Amendment 171 Experiential Marketing Ad
a. Oatly will give out oat milk samples at grocery stores without telling them what it is and film their reactions. It is likely that consumers will use words like creamy, delicious, rich, or milky to describe it. Even if people don't like milk, they will give likely reactions like, "this is just milk," to describe it.
b. Then they will ask people if they know about Amendment 171 ( a bill that would have banned plant-free dairy companies from using words like "buttery" or "creamy" to describe their products) but, Oatly successfully protested against this. They claimed that their oat milk is creamy and should be considered a milk because of how texturally and teasingly similar it is to real milk
c. They will use their reactions as an advertisement
3. Kid's Lunches Marketing Experiment
a. Oatly should give out little Oatly cartons instead of regular milk cartons during a school lunch. They should film the kids reaction to receiving it and trying it.
b. People are hesitant to switch from cow's milk to oat milk. Kids are not extremely biased because they are so young and people may be more open to a product and people would be more open to trying oat milk if a kid doesn't think it is too bad.
c. This will be a humorous and wholesome way to bring attention to Oatly
4. Chick Fil A Partnership
a. Chick Fil A's famous slogan, "eat more chickin," is advertised by a cow. Oatly also advertises with a cow and both companies can enhance their brand messages through the cow together.
b. There aren't many planet based fast food restaurants so providing a selection of dairy free and creamy drinks can help young consumers integrate healthier ways to feed their body could help Oatly be more recognizable in the market.
c. Their partnership should have a combined slogan such as, "Each more chikin...and drink more oats." They can create drinks like dairy free frosted creamy lemonade or dairy free milkshakes.
5. PR Stunt on National Milk Day
a. Oatly will hire people to fake a protest against dairy free milk on national milk day. They will hire actors to set up an Oatly stand in a popular, crowd-saturated area like SoHo or Washington Square Park and have other actors gather around the area to protest against the oat milk. Typically, people don't oppose dairy-free milk with such anger but this stunt will mock the people who show that type of aggression towards a casual drink. The goal of the stunt is to show how silly it is to be opposed to something so simple and encourage people to go dairy free for a change.