The original, and still Australia’s favourite Tim Tam. Picture: Jeff Camden
TIM TAMS are one of few brands Australians care about. I mean REALLY care about.
I’ve been a Tim Tam mule for people in foreign lands where the iconic chocolate biscuit can’t be bought. When you open your suitcase to reveal its Tim Tam cargo that look of gratitude on their faces is something you can’t fake.
No wonder Tim Tams are among the few brands to have survived the rampage of private labels.
Many food brands have been destroyed by cheap competitors — we didn’t love them enough when push came to shove and they faded away.
Not so for Tim Tams.
The distinctly Australian choc-coated biscuit has notched up half a century. But its future is far from assured.
Even Prince Charles loves tucking into a Tim Tam.Source:News Limited
Arnott’s has been locked in games of brinkmanship with Coles and cut supply of certain Tim Tam lines after Coles wouldn’t pay asking prices on some of the company’s product lines.
The Tim Tam is a clear threat to supermarkets’ power, and it would be in their interests to find ways to knock it off its perch.
Arnott’s declined to comment on their marketing plans for this article, but they did tell me they make 3000 biscuits a minute and Australians eat 670 million Tim Tams a year.
There are 12 varieties, they said, but the most popular is the original. It has cream in the centre which is a mix of butter, vanilla and chocolate. What they didn’t tell me was that each Tim Tam contains a surprising 397 KJ of energy, making it quite an unhealthy little snack.
Healthy or not, if Arnott’s want the brand to survive they should have a good look at how other companies promote their top products.
Look at Apple stores. Apple doesn’t need to own real estate — its products are good enough that every retailer is eager to stock them.
But a flagship city centre store adds value. Obviously it adds an outlet independent of supermarkets. That’s important, but the flagship store is not just about crude sales. It provides something undefinable — it reinforces the importance of a brand to a city, a nation, a culture.
Flagship stores are becoming a major part of product marketing in the internet era. While fewer physical outlets are required close to people’s homes, one major destination store is often retained as a tangible reminder of the brand’s presence.
M&Ms are a good example. The brand has flagship stores all over the world which are as much a theme park as a sales outlet. The intent is to make M&Ms a category all of its own, separate and different to Smarties and the multitudinous other candied chocolate buttons to which they may, in reality, be very similar.
For a shop selling tiny pieces of chocolate, the two storey M&M concept store in New York is ridiculously big.Source:News Limited
There is no reason Tim Tams can’t do the same. They are part of our national identity — You can tell that by the way tourists stock up on them at Duty Free. Arnott’s needs to make sure it reinforces that.
A city centre Tim Tam palace could be a showcase for a great Aussie invention. They could have a cafe section for demonstrating the art of the Tim Tam Slams, offer special limited edition biscuits, a create your own flavour section, and could serve Tim Tam cake.
Without smart new thinking the Tim Tam might get caught up in the supermarket wars and fade away. Then what would make all those homesick Aussies want to come back?
Two happy little Vegemites, err, Tim Tam fans. Picture: Sam Ruttyn.Source:News Corp Australia
Jason Murphy is an economist. He publishes the blog Thomas The Think Engine. Follow him on Twitter
@jasemurphy.
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