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Case study - SSS Start-up, SME, Solution Company
Case study
                                    Comparative Advertising

                      Communication value in an economically difficult climate
                                    The case of Lidl in Germany

Author: Natascha McVeigh, Director SSS
Date: December 2016
Case study - SSS Start-up, SME, Solution Company
Content
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 3

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3

2 The Market .............................................................................................................................. 4

   2.1 Market definition .............................................................................................................. 4

   2.2 Retail Market in Europe .................................................................................................... 4

   3.3 Retail in Germany ............................................................................................................. 5

3 Lidl and its Market Position ..................................................................................................... 5

   3.1 Lidl’s Competitor Aldi ....................................................................................................... 5

   3.2 Lidl in Germany ................................................................................................................. 6

4 Advertisement Analysis ........................................................................................................... 7

   4.1 Advertisement Introduction ............................................................................................. 7

   4.2 Picture Description ........................................................................................................... 7

   4.3 Text Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 8

   4.4 Message Transfer to the Consumer ................................................................................. 9

   4.5 Applied Discussion ............................................................................................................ 9

5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 11

Reference List ........................................................................................................................... 12

Appendix..................................................................................................................................... A

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Abstract
Nowadays the retail sector develops in a way that products and companies are similar, and
cannot be clearly identified by the consumer. Therefore businesses need to develop
marketing strategies to stand out against their competitors. Companies’ aims are to create a
unique selling proposition (USP) (Comfort, 2013), especially because of the wide product
variety and the tough competition. It is important that their own products are outstanding in
comparison with other products and producers. In the past, German Marketing
communication opportunities were more restricted by law and the use of comparative
advertising was not allowed (Juristische Redaktion, 2008). Nowadays, according to European
Union law, the direct comparison of products from different corporations is allowed, but
strict rules must be adhered to. These laws allow companies a wider range of opportunities
to advertise their own products (European Parliament, 2006). This paper explores the
question of what effects comparative advertising has on the consumer, as well as on
business partners. It also examines the success of the advertisement campaign and whether
the brand could even be damaged by comparative advertising. It will show how this type of
advertising represents the communication value in an economically difficult climate. To
illustrate this point, this paper analyses the way of advertising with regards to the legal
aspect in the case of the German grocery discounter named Lidl, and how it implements its
advertising.

Keywords: Lidl, comparative advertising in Germany, legal aspects, advertising analysis,
marketing communication tools.

1 Introduction
Until August 2000, comparative advertising called “UWG-Unlauterer Wettbewerb” was
strictly forbidden in Germany. “Unlauterer Wettbewerb” (unfair competition) was identified
as a competition law, a specific form of a breach of law (Duffett, 2015). “Unlauterer
Wettbewerb” is taken into court proceedings, when the behaviour of a company is deemed
to be unmoral by the specific company when it feels unfairly treated in a business
competition. The first paragraph of the law states that it will protect the competitors, the
consumers, and other market participants (Duffett, 2015). The comparative advertising is
regulated in paragraph six (Duffett, 2015). With the new law “Richtlinie 97/55/EG”,
published on the 6th October 1997, the German law against the “Unlauterer Wettbewerb”

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was changed and comparative advertising was allowed (Europäisches Parlament, 1997).
However, it was implemented under strict rules, and one of the new regulations is that a
company is only permitted to compare products with a direct content. For example a pure
orange juice compared to a different pure orange juice, and not a juice made from
concentrate. Furthermore, the comparative advertisement has to be truthful and honest,
price comparison is permitted, and the advert has to be impartial. It is not permitted to state
an opinion, for example that the product is nicer or better than the competitors (Juristische
Redaktion, 2008). An example for a fail in terms of comparative advertising is the case of
Ryanair, when they lost a court proceeding against Lufthansa (Frankfurter Allgemeine
Zeitung, 2002). The prospect of court proceedings is one of the principal reasons why
comparative advertising is very rare in Germany. The strict rules make it difficult to find a
way to compare another brand with a company’s own brand.

This paper explores a comparative advert produced by Lidl, which is currently illustrated in
Germany. The new campaign “Du hast die Wahl.” (“You have the choice.”) is advertised on
several media channels such as television, radio and print advertising (aktuelleflugblatter.de,
2016). This paper will introduce the reader to the advertising, and presents the Marketing
communication tools which Lidl used in its advert. The aim is to emphasize the
communication value between the company, the consumer and its business partners.

2 The Market

       2.1 Market definition
               “The food & grocery retail market includes the retail sales of all food products,
               both packaged and unpackaged, as well as beverages (including retail sales of
               all alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages), tobacco, and household products”
               (MarketLine, 2016, p. 7).

       2.2 Retail Market in Europe
       Between 2011 and 2016 the European retail market increased at a CAGR (compound
       annual growth) of 4.8%. Since 2011 the sales in the retail market rose, and the
       forecast for the near future is positive in terms of the sales figures. Hypermarkets,
       supermarkets as well as convenience stores and hard-discounters dominate and
       propel business in the retail market (MarketLine, 2015).

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3.3 Retail in Germany
      Between 2011 and 2014 the German retail market in the food and grocery sector
      expanded at a mediocre rate below 2%. In 2012 there was 1.8% growth, in 2013
      there was 1.9% growth and likewise in 2014. In 2015 there was a small surge in the
      market and it increased to 2.5% and reached a value of €205,249.80 million, which
      was an increase of over €4 million from 2014. The packaged food sector was the most
      profitable category acquiring 42.6% of the market´s total value in 2015 while
      beverages had 27.3% of the market. Unpackaged food, tobacco and household
      products made up the remaining 30.2% (MarketLine, 2016). The CAGR of the market
      in the period 2011–2015 was 2% (MarketLine, 2016). The retail industry in the food
      and grocery sector is quite condensed with supermarkets and hypermarkets holding
      59% of the market (MarketLine, 2016). The market value forecast for Germany from
      2015 to 2020 in the food and grocery retail sector is predicted to be 2.2% (CAGR) and
      reach a market value of €229,029.2 million, rising by 11.6% since 2015 (MarketLine,
      2016). [Appendix B]

3 Lidl and its Market Position

      3.1 Lidl’s Competitor Aldi
      Lidl chose comparative advertising to rival its biggest competitor Aldi, who started to
      sell well-known brands in its stores (Schäfer, 2016). Lidl has been the leading
      discounter so far, who sell branded as well as own branded products to its
      customers. Since Aldi is selling branded products, Lidl lost its presence in this
      segment (Reimann, 2016). Porter’s 5 forces analysis enables companies to gain a
      deep insight into their market surroundings (competitors, substitutes, customers,
      market, and suppliers), especially when viewing the competitors strategic
      orientation, this tool can help to evaluate and build a company’s own strategic
      structures. When a company gets into Lidl’s field (e. g. price range or products), Lidl
      can concentrate on strategies to differentiate itself from the rival. This can include
      products, communication methods or higher value of shopping experience. Lidl
      decided to create a comparative advertising campaign to gain back the customers
      attention (Dobbs, 2012).

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3.2 Lidl in Germany
In the early 1930’s Lidl started a small self-contained grocery store based in Germany.
The first Lidl discounter store was opened in the former German Democratic Republic
in 1973. Nowadays, Lidl is in the list of the top ten grocery stores in the German
market, and 3,190 stores were registered in Germany in 2015 (Statista, 2016).
Furthermore, Lidl is one of the largest grocery stores in Europe in the discounter
sector (Lidl E-Commerce International GmbH & Co. KG, n.d.). There are currently over
600 stores in the U.K. and this continues to grow year after year (Lidl UK GmbH, n.d.).
Lidl´s products range from food and non-food articles such as clothing, hygienic
articles and articles for daily use (MarketLine, 2015, pp. 8-13). In addition, Lidl offers
Bio articles (Lidl E-Commerce International GmbH & Co. KG, n.d.), and also Fairtrade
products (Lidl E-Commerce International GmbH & Co. KG, n.d.). The company sells its
own brand products, and also well-known branded products. One of the main
principles of Lidl is customer satisfaction, and to offer good quality products, at a
lower price than its competitors. The growth of the company has risen through
expansion and by improvement of its stores (Lidl E-Commerce International GmbH &
Co. KG, n.d.). Another important part are the behaviour principles for customer
handling. These principles claim to be friendly, respectful, and honest. In addition to
that, Lidl offers quality and fresh products at a low price (Lidl E-Commerce
International GmbH & Co. KG, n.d.). The company assures to be fair to its customers
and business partners (Lidl E-Commerce International GmbH & Co. KG, n.d.). To link
up to this point, this paper explores the outcome and questions in terms of how fair
Lidl really acts with its new comparative advertising, in regards to its business
partners. Moreover, it is interesting to find out the effects of what this very daring
advertising has on its customers. Advantages and disadvantages will be discussed and
analysed, to give transparency to the successfulness and the critical areas of this type
of advertising. The analysis of the value of the communication in this advert and the
advertisement itself will be highlighted. The marketing communications of Lidl’s
advert is performed by multi-channel media. Communication measures such as
classic advertising, also known as “above the line” advertising, e.g. television, radio,
magazines or other prints such as newspaper adverts are used by Lidl for its new
campaign. Furthermore, “below the line” advertising, also known as “out of home”

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advertising, e.g. Internet, posters, leaflets or word-of-mouth communications are
      important channels to reach out to its prospective customers (Smith & Taylor, 2004).

4 Advertisement Analysis

      4.1 Advertisement Introduction
      Lidl are advertising its current campaign “Du hast die Wahl.” (“You have the choice.”)
      in Germany through numerous media outlets including television, radio channels,
      YouTube videos, posters, and magazines (Gondorf, 2016). This Paper will mainly focus
      on the poster adverts, which are displayed throughout Germany. In this advert, Lidl
      compares its own brands with other well-known brands such as “Coca-Cola”,
      “Leibniz”, “Golden Hills”,”Krombacher Pils”, “Pringles”, “Magnum”, “Kerrygold”, or
      “Iglo”(Birds Eye). In the first step the reader will be informed about the offer of well-
      known brands, and its own brands. In the following step, the advert compares the
      price, the quantity, and the quality of both products. For this analysis the commercial
      comparison with the product “Coca-Cola” of the Coca-Cola Company is chosen.

      4.2 Picture Description
      The advert is in picture format and separated in two parts side by side. The left part
      has a black coloured background, where the well-known branded bottle “Coca-Cola”
      is placed with a quoted price €0.89 as an eye catcher. Directly under the price is the
      information describing the product such as the quantity in litres, caffeine quantities,
      the price per litre and the bottle deposit, which is usual to pay in Germany. The
      background colour of the other part of Lidl’s advert, on the right hand side, is white.
      The images, which are placed on the advert of both products, are the same size and
      have the same layout. The red coloured cheaper price label with €0.39 stands out
      significantly as it is on the white background. The consumer can immediately view
      that the branded price of “Coca-Cola” is double that of the Lidl brand. Above the two
      bottles the headline reads “Du hast die Wahl.” (“You have the choice.”) which is the
      slogan of the campaign. The headline reaches through both sides, the black and the
      white ones. Part of the Headline is the sentence “Starke Marken und starke
      Eigenmarken zu Hammerpreisen.” (“Strong brands and strong own brands for
      hammer prices.”) which is placed directly under the Headline. Above the Headline,
      on the left hand side of the poster is the logo placed with the statement “Lidl lohnt

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sich” (“Lidl is worth it.”) Between the two bottles is a seal of approval label, which
communicates that when the customer is not 100% satisfied, the customer will get
their money back. [Appendix A]

4.3 Text Analysis
The text uses stylistic and rhetorical devices. The headline conveys the message
between the comparison of the branded product and the Lidl brand. The KISS-
principle which means “Keep it smart and simple” is used for the headline “Du hast
die Wahl.” It is also the actual slogan of the campaign in form of a statement and
directly addresses the consumer. The addition of the headline is a word repetition, a
metaphor and an anaphora (Umiker-Sebeok, 1987). “Hammerpreise” (“Hammer
prices”) is a slang term in German that is used when a good deal is done, and is
reminiscent of a picture of a hammer in an auction and is a symbol of a cheap sale
(Ketterer Kunst GmbH & Co. KG , n.d.). The Anaphora is a rhetoric tool, where one or
more words are repeated at the beginning of connected sentences, in this case
“Starke Marken und starke Eigenmarken” (“Strong brands and strong own brands”).
The Lidl logo also contains a statement, and appeals to the consumers’ emotions
(Dupriez & Halsall, 1991). The company makes the consumer feel that Lidl is worth
spending their money with, because the consumer saves money and also gets good
quality products. The advertising illustrates that the recipient can purchase both
products in the shop, the well-known brand and the Lidl brand. The offer is mainly
focused on the price, the price label as an eye-catcher is a psychological device. The
consumer is drawn into the advert by reading in a “Z” direction, which is an
important point in the stylistic device (Klose, 2015). Furthermore, the AIDA
(Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action) formula is used in this advert (Rodrigo, 2012).
The “Attention” is caught by the colours black and white which seems familiar to the
consumer to associate good or bad, dark and light. The consumers “Interest” gets
activated by the price comparison. The consumers “Desire” is saving money, and the
“approval seal” label which is a promise to the customer that they can claim their
money back, is another good advertising aid to support to the consumer if they are
not satisfied with the product. The “Action” is to go into the shop and purchase the
item.

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4.4 Message Transfer to the Consumer
In this advertisement campaign the consumer can understand directly that a well-
known brand is compared with the Lidl own brand. The well-known brand buyers, are
targeted with information about the stores own brands with a cheaper price and
same quality. The black colour in the advert could be associated by the consumer
that the well-known brand, here “Coca-Cola” is on the “negative” side and the Lidl
brand is on the “positive” white side, with the cheaper price. The advert was shown
on many media outlets during the release of the Star Wars movie where the colour
black is the dark side of the power and the colour white the good side (Dittmann,
2016). This could be very influential to consumers’ perceptions.

4.5 Applied Discussion
With this advert the company wants to achieve an image transfer that applies to the
consumers need for saving money, and offers the same quality as the branded
products does. A wide range of marketing communication tools were used in this
advert and the communication objectives in this campaign seem to be achieved. The
attention of the recipient for this offer is gained by the comparative advert. The
brand building awareness takes place through how the image is transferred. The
consumer is informed about the product, quality and the price. The distinction
between the competitors’ product, and the well-known brand is the cheaper price.
Last but not least, the induce purchase incentive gets activated while the consumer
thinks about the advert. Lidl’s advert establishes contact with the consumer as the
target group notices the brand comparative advertisement, which triggers the
emotions by showing the cheaper price with the same or similar quality. A general
understanding is transferred when the consumer is interested, and he will process
the communication value of the advert, hopefully leading to a sale (Flottmann, 2015).
The memory of the recipient gets anchored through the seldom seen comparative
advertising (Rodrigo, 2012). According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model,
consumers can process a communication in two ways, depending on the attention
and comprehension of the recipient (Tampre, et al., 2010). For instance a person with
high involvement on a product will use the “Central Route” to process the
information. High involvement means, there is a need for cognition of a person, and
he has more interest in a product for many reasons. For example if the favourite

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drink of somebody is Coca-Cola and he collects Coca-Cola merchandise then he will
more than likely to pay more attention to an advert with the Coca-Cola brand. To
change the behaviour of this recipient his beliefs and attitude need to be changed.
This could happen with the direct comparison of Coca-Cola and the own brand in
Lidl´s advert. The consumer will hopefully be interested and will try the own brand
with the cheaper price. If not then the advert has already attracted the customers’
attention and will more than likely buy the Coca-Cola brand in the Lidl store, so Lidl is
in a win-win situation. The other route of a person’s information process is the
“Peripheral Route” with low involvement products. These are products for daily use
such as bread or milk, and the recipient does not usually give much consideration
when purchasing these items. For instance, if the consumer enjoys Cola but believes
that Cola is not much more than a drink to quench his thirst, then there would not be
a need for cognition for him. The belief, behaviour and attitude are easy to change
and he would be the best recipient for the advert by Lidl as the price is lower and is
still Cola. Another Marketing tool is the copy-strategy which illustrates the
communication message of the advert (Busch, et al., 2007). The arrangement of the
advert, in this case that Lidl’s products are cheaper than branded items but with the
same quality. The consumers benefit can be categorised into two sections such as
functional and emotional. In this case, the functional benefit of the consumer is to
save money and get good quality products. To link up to this, the emotional aspect
gets activated by the positive experience when money is saved. The reason why the
consumer should buy the Lidl brand is because it has the same quality as the brand
but has a cheaper price. The tonality of the advert is that the product is cheaper and
more versatile. Accordingly the central message is Lidl’s own products are cheaper
than top selling brands but with the same or similar quality. A central message
(Rainey, 2008) in advertising or rule of thumb is that an advert should be noticed by
the consumer in two seconds (Flottmann, 2015), and this is executed more easily
with the use of pictures. In this advert this is illustrated with the price labels and the
product images. The advert is independent and more noticeable because of the
seldom use of comparative advertising. The communication effect occurs physically,
emotionally and cognitively. Moreover the key visuals are carried out by the brand
comparative advert and the price (Flottmann, 2015).

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5 Conclusion
There are many positive and some negative aspects for this type of advertising. A huge
advantage of this type of advert is, that Lidl stands out against most other adverts in
Germany, and moreover against its biggest competitor Aldi. Lidl could increase the sale of its
own products, whilst offering the benefits of its brand in comparison to the competitors’.
Another advantage is that a positive image transfer takes place for the consumer, and the
attention of the target group is also gained as intended. Both brands remain in the memory
of the consumer and can be bought in the same store. On the negative side the advert has
some disadvantages too. It could cause offence to the competitors who are also business
partners in this case Coca-Cola. The business partners may feel like they have been attacked
with comparative advertising by hitting their emotions. Further to this, the advert could
cause a cognitive reactance to the recipient, which means, if the consumer feels too much
influence he will rebel the situation (Tomczak, et al., 2012). If the advert seems too
aggressive to the consumer, the brand could lose the sympathy of the recipient. In times of
economic difficulties Lidl is investing in communication strategies to develop its own brands
for the future, and offering good value such as the lower price with good quality, and
importantly is offering choice to the consumer. The comparative advertising of Lidl lets the
customer decide which brand is preferred. If the comparative advertising campaign is
successful, and the own branded products sales rise this will be emphasized positively in the
future.

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kampagne-88325/

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[Accessed 05 November 2016]. ["You have the choice": Lidls´comparative advertising in its new
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Kogan Page Limited.
Statista, 2016. Anzahl der Filialen von Lidl in Deutschland in den Jahren 2007 bis 2015. [Online]
Available at: https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/240200/umfrage/anzahl-der-filialen-von-
lidl/
[Accessed 04 November 2016]. [Number of Lidl stores in Germany between 2007 and 2015.
translated by Natascha McVeigh]
Tampre, D., Stapel, D. A., Siero, F. W. & Mulder, H., 2010. Beauty as a Tool: The Effect of Model
Attractiveness, Product Relevance, and Elaboration Likelihood on Advertising Effectiveness, Tilburg,
Groningen, Netherlands: Wiley Periodicals,Inc.
Tomczak, T., Esch, F.-R., Kernstock, J. & Herrmann, A., 2012. Behavioral Branding: Wie
Mitarbeiterverhalten die Marke stärkt. 3rd ed. Wiesbaden: Gabler. [Behavioural branding: How
employee behaviour strengthens the brand. translated by Natascha McVeigh]
Umiker-Sebeok, J., 1987. Marketing and Semiotics: New Directions in the Study of Signs for Sale.
Berlin: The Hague.

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Appendix

Appendix A: Lidl´s comparative advertisement “Du hast die Wahl.”

                                                            From Monday, 22.8. till Saturday, 27.8.
                                                            Lidl is worth it.

                                                            You have the choice.
                                                            Strong brands and strong own brands for
                                                            hammer prices.

                                                            100% Satisfied or money back

                                                            [translated by Natascha McVeigh]

                                                                                                      A
Appendix B: Table of the Market value of retail in Germany

                                                             B
Appendix C: Elaboration Likelihood Model

                                           C
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