To explore the product from both a marketing and design perspective it is appropriate to conduct a SWOT analysis.
Strengths
Tim Tam Balls are a brand extension from one of Arnott’s best selling products, Tim Tam Biscuits. Arnott’s created the product as an easy to eat snack while on the go or as an after dinner snack. The easy to open soft packaging ensures that the product is for people on the go and thus Arnott’s are able to broaden their consumer base.
To avoid the risk of diluting or changing the meaning of the core brand (Tim Tam Biscuits) Arnott’s have maintained similar colours on their packaging to that of Tim Tam Biscuits. The use of warm brown tones and eclipses have been used to mimic the texture of chocolate. To the consumer, this creates a union between the traditional biscuit and the newly developed Tim Tam Balls. Traditional Tim Tam biscuits are currently Australia’s most popular biscuit selling over 35 Million packets per annum. So from a marketing perspective, Arnott’s have done this to leverage brand awareness.
Weaknesses
The soft packaging of the product places it amongst competitors such as Malteser’s and M&M’s, which are established FMCG products. The airy like centre can be compared to other products such as those mentioned above and can therefore loose consumers as they may have an already established brand preference for chocolate.
The packaging structure also means that the product is found in the biscuit aisle of the supermarket and not at the checkout stand. As such, brand awareness is not gained easily unless the consumer is spending time looking for a new product or Tim Tam derivative.
The product colouring and overall look is not dissimilar to that of the original Tim Tam biscuit packaging and therefore a consumer may easily look over the product when browsing in the