The Aldi-fication of social media marketing
In 2023, dancing around automated responses from ‘cutting-edge’ chatbots has replaced many human experiences. It is refreshing to talk to people: my god big brands’ social media teams know this. To stand out in a crowded marketplace, brands connect with customers in a personal and relatable way online. By using humour, personality, and humanity, brands can build stronger connections with their customers and ultimately drive more sales and loyalty. Supermarket heavy-weight Aldi has long curated a humorous online persona that turns customer re-tweets into receipts.
Food retail is a tricky market to master: margins are low, competition is fierce, and it’s a breeding ground for rivalries. In 2021, Marks & Spencer launched legal action against Aldi, claiming that the no-frills supermarket infringed a trademark on its Colin the Caterpillar Cake.
The court battle between Aldi and M&S can be compared to some of the greatest rivalries of all time, such as Liverpool vs Manchester United in football or Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal in tennis. Like the great rivalries of sport, the competition between Aldi and M&S is not limited to the courtroom. Aldi used this matchup to win the hearts of the fans — rather than focusing on winning in the High Court.
Championing its ‘loveable disrupter’ reputation online, the brand fought back with wit. In partnership with creative agency McCann Manchester, the German supermarket launched its #FreeCuthbert campaign.
The campaign kicked off with an attack on M&S’s well-known tagline ‘this is not just any court case, this is…#FreeCuthbert’. Quickly, Aldi was number one on trending, where they would stay for days. User-generated content propelled this campaign into the nation’s hearts, with fan videos stacking up over 30 million views. It wasn’t long before Cuthbert was everywhere: memes, memorabilia and panel shows.
So what was the return on all the Cuthbert Mania that dominated the UK? Well, first of all, Aldi lost in court and eventually struck a deal with M&S to continue selling Cuthbert — after a slight makeover. The discount supermarket grew its Twitter following by 30%, reached over 35 million followers on Facebook and achieved a 15% engagement rate on social. The organic reach equated to over £5m of media spending without spending a penny on advertising.
Chatbots, machines and automation are not limited to the food retail industry. Many industries are facing similar challenges as machines & artificial intelligence is increasingly taking over tasks that were once performed by humans. Brands that can successfully humanize themselves and connect with customers in a more personal and relatable way will be better positioned to stand out in a crowded marketplace and build stronger connections with their customers.