Project background
In early 2023, Britvic was set to launch a new, easier to recycle, sports cap for its Fruit Shoot bottles.
From experience, Britvic was aware of the affect changes to its products can have on consumers, particularly those in the neurodivergent community. A previous packaging change, from coloured to transparent bottles, left kids questioning if it was the same product they knew and loved.
This became a particular challenge for the parents of autistic children – with many struggling as their kids rejected the new bottles.
With over 700,000 autistic children in the UK, Fruit Shoot wanted to ensure that the transition to the new cap was as easy as possible for everyone.
In partnership with the National Autistic Society, Fruit Shoot created a campaign to help neurodivergent people manage this packaging design change, raise awareness of challenges facing autistic children and adults, and lead the way in demonstrating how brands can help make their lives that little bit easier.
Our approach
“Every autistic person deserves to feel comfortable in their local community, particularly in retail and public spaces where they can often feel overwhelmed. This includes easily recognised products and anticipating change in advance. By providing an autism-friendly approach, an organisation will play its part in creating a more satisfying product experience and make a difference to the lives of autistic people.” – National Autistic Society.
In partnership with the National Autistic Society, Fruit Shoot developed a communication programme to explain the packaging changes to parents and carers of neurodivergent children, to help ease the transition and address any challenges they might face.
Freely available online resources were created for families to use at home and on-the-go, to help explain what is changing and why.
An awareness campaign was launched to ensure news of the changes was made fully available to the neurodiverse community. This included:
Expert partnership – working with autistic people to develop and deliver effective communication strategies and materials
Targeted communications – developing an approach that meets the needs of those that will be affected by the change, considering a variety of methods and formats (from short-form content and videos to story boards and social media)
Consumer engagement – consulting all relevant interaction points within the neurodiverse community, to ensure awareness and messaging reached the audience and all stakeholder groups
Our expert partner
As the experts in the field, the National Autistic Society was the perfect partner for this campaign. The charity is committed to transforming lives, challenging perceptions and building a society that works for autistic people.
Its expertise in improving public understanding of autism and helping businesses, local authorities and government provide more autism-friendly spaces, deliver better services and improve laws, was invaluable to the campaign’s success.
The National Autistic Society arranged conversations with the autistic community, while providing insights and recommendations that helped shape the campaign. This was an invaluable contribution, helping ensure the campaign resonated with its target audience and making the Fruit Shoot cap change as seamless as possible.
Assets and communications
Consumer communications:
To kick off the project, we used the database of consumers who’d previously got in touch about the Fruit Shoot switching from coloured bottles to clear bottles. Knowing that this audience would likely be affected by the cap change too, we worked with the National Autistic Society to write an email update to:
· Thank them for bringing to our attention the importance of considering the neurodiverse community with changes to packaging
· Inform them of the upcoming change to a sports cap, including specifics on why, where and when
· Share details of the support materials that were in development at the time, as well as when and where these would be available
· Offer them the chance to participate in a consumer panel, so we could hear their feedback, and learn how things could be improved
Earned media strategy:
Using a targeted approach, we spoke to key media for the community — including specific autism related titles, parenting titles, stakeholder sites and other charity news sites and mainstream publications. We engaged with trusted sources within the autistic community, including :
· ADDitude Magazine
· Autism &ADHD Parent Support UK
· Autism Support UK
· Business Disability Forum
· Charities (CONTACT, Ambitious about Autism, Scope, Sense, Mencap, Family Fund)
· Special Needs Jungle
We communicated news about our partnership with the National Autistic Society, the reasons behind the change to the cap, and the work Fruit Shoot was doing to help parents prepare for this change.
All outlets received a range of communications materials, to cater for the way their audience take in information, including video content, written materials, and story boards, signposting consumers to the Fruit Shoot website where these were hosted with additional information.
Influencer engagement:
Influencers with first-hand experience of autism were brought in to help spread the word of the cap change, updating their audiences on the reason why the change was happening, where and when it would be rolled out, and where to find support resources on the Fruit Shoot website.
Supported with social content across Fruit Shoot social media channels throughout the process, further amplifying the messaging and signposting consumers to the materials available.
James Hunt, @Storiesaboutautism - Instagram, TikTok and Facebook
James is a dad to two boys Tommy and Jude. Both of them are autistic and non-verbal. James shares his everyday life to help other parents not feel so alone. James advocates for autism awareness through his content and blog. He has won two Bloody Awesome Parents Awards, and has been a brilliant support for us in developing this campaign throughout, really championing a proactive approach to product changes and helping Fruit Shoot support the community as much as possible.
Our Altered Life, @Ouralteredlife - Instagram
Charlie is a mum to Harry who is neurodivergent. Charlie shares inspiring content for mums whose children are neurodiverse. She currently runs a newsletter, Supporting Mums, and acts as a mentor to those navigating parenthood with a neurodivergent child.
Tinuke Awe, @tinukeawe - Instagram
Tinuke (AKA mums and tea) is a mummy blogger and entrepreneur. She is a mum of two, and her son is autistic. She shares content on their day to day lives and her platform is focused on sharing the real behind the scenes information on motherhood.
Tola, @raisingkevin_- TikTok
Tola, Kevin’s mum, shares inspiring, fun and relatable content for parents whose children are also neurodivergent. She also runs a non-profit organisation, aiming to promote autism awareness and acceptance, especially among minority groups.
Corporate communications:
The corporate communications rollout was led by Britvic's Managing Director in Great Britain, Paul Graham. Sharing an article in The Grocer, Paul said: “As a father to a son diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), I’m always considering the future of neurodiversity in consumer and workplace landscapes from a business perspective. To me, this ‘difference’ represents an opportunity for our industry.”
"Taking an inclusive approach to consumer experience has multiple mutual benefits to be explored. The first step is tailoring communications content and style to ensure messaging is resonating with neurodiverse audiences. Prioritising user-friendly packaging and communicating change will ensure consumers can recognise favourites in-store and continue to enjoy them. Further, partnering with neurodiversity advocates enables these changes to be made collaboratively, helping us see our approach more broadly while holding brands accountable.
"This considerate approach to inclusivity should extend to building our workforces too. Enabling neurodiverse individuals to thrive means creating supportive workplaces. Championing neurodiversity through internal employee networks keeps conversation open – our B-Seen network at Britvic supports our neurodiverse colleagues. Additionally, mentorship programmes and tailored training can help realise the potential of neurodiverse talent. Indeed, neurodivergent colleagues bring creativity, expertise, critical thinking and other skills. These same skills can help brands create messaging and products that resonate with all consumers… When we build inclusive cultures, we unlock innovation and allow all talents to thrive, encouraging diversity of thought and growth.”
Sharing insights from the campaign with the wider Britvic team, we:
· Organised an internal training programme to amplify the understanding of neurodiversity within the workplace
· Hosted a panel discussion to celebrate the programme and acknowledge the internal champions for change
· Worked with Paul Graham to help create rich and meaningful content for his page
Results
A social media reach of over 4 million people with 20 pieces of influencer content. Britvic Managing Director Paul Graham’s own LinkedIn post was also viewed over 2,500 times and liked over 500 times.
With all content shared across Fruit Shoot and Britvic’s owned channels, adding an additional 250,000 views.
Peter Watt, Managing Director of National Programmes at the National Autistic Society, said: “For autistic children and adults, a sudden unexpected change to everyday life can be hard. By producing assets such as social stories we can help to prepare children and adults for changes ahead of time and aim to minimise disruption to routines. The National Autistic Society is pleased to work with Fruit Shoot to support this transition to create a more satisfying product experience and make a difference to the lives of neurodivergent people.”
The campaign also shifted brand perception and awareness:
· More people would now consider themselves very familiar with Fruit Shoot: 73% initially vs. 75% now
· More people within the 25-34 age group would now consider themselves very familiar with Fruit Shoot: 69% initially vs. 72% now
· More people within the 25-34 age group view Fruit Shoot very positively: 44% initially vs. 49% now
· The amount of people who view Fruit Shoot as supportive has nearly doubled:7.6% initially vs. 14% now
· This is particularly strong when looking at people of a typical parenting age: 12% aged 25-44 initially vs. 28% now
· More people within a typical parenting age bracket would consider Fruit Shoot as more innovative now: 10% aged 25-44 initially vs 18% now[1]
The National Autistic Society conducted a survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the materials created. Key findings include:
· 80% of parents, whether autistic or not, would consider purchasing Fruit Shoot in the future
· Half of all respondents view Fruit Shoot as a friendly brand, with 47% describing it as supportive, and the same percentage finding it trustworthy
· 100% of autistic individuals and autistic parents/carers believe Fruit Shoot is inclusive, with 94% of all respondents agreeing
· Most respondents (31%) learned about the new cap change through charity websites or newsletters, while 19% found out via social media (excluding James Hunt, Fruit Shoot, or National Autistic Society platforms)
· 78% of all respondents agreed that the story booklet effectively explained the Fruit Shoot cap change, with 72% noting that they wouldn’t change anything about it
· 100% of respondents indicated they would share the story booklet with others
· 81% of respondents felt the video clearly explained the Fruit Shoot cap change
· 65% of respondents said they wouldn’t change anything about the video
· 100% of respondents indicated they would share the video with others
· 100% of autistic individuals said that Fruit Shoot provided clear and easy-to-understand information about the cap change, with 88% of all respondents agreeing
· 30% of respondents stated they would purchase Fruit Shoot as a result of the booklet and video
· 75% of respondents agree that Fruit Shoot is supportive of the neurodivergent community
· 81% of all responders believe the booklet and video are helpful in preparing neurodivergent children and adults for the Fruit Shoot cap change.[2]
Key learnings
The considered mix of influencers we worked with on the campaign enabled the activity to reach wider and more diverse audiences, ensuring we hit those most likely to be impacted by the changes.
By providing the community with enough notice about the change happening before the product change appeared in stores, we pre-empted challenges for autistic consumers and enabled a smoother transfer.
The range of materials created meant that the information was available and accessible for everyone.
Having a well-established, credible partner in the National Autistic Society was critical in landing our comms confidently and with the target audiences.
Building strong relationships with key partners, i.e. the National Autistic Society and James Hunt, and nurturing these throughout the activity despite challenges with timelines ensured they stayed on board and happy to support with the campaign.
Engaging directly with consumers who had previously struggled with other packaging changes was pivotal in striving towards our overarching goal in this campaign, which was to see a reduction in the number of negative consumer enquiries about the cap change, compared to the opaque plastic bottle to clear bottle change.
