Discounter Aldi plays tartan card with £2m ad campaign targeting Scotland

DISCOUNT supermarket chain Aldi is shelling out £2 million on a dedicated Scottish television marketing campaign – its first ever – as it attempts to grab share from its big-name rivals.

The German-owned retailer said its advertising push, which has been devised by the Leith Agency, would coincide with fresh price cuts across its Scottish stores.

The adverts – which were due to premiere on today’s Lorraine show on STV, hosted by Lorraine Kelly – highlight some of Aldi’s core Scottish products, including milk and caramel wafers.

The firm claims that more than a quarter of its product range is now sourced locally.

Its campaign comes amid an ongoing battle for custom as smaller discounters put the squeeze on their larger, established rivals.

Recent industry figures showed that Aldi’s share of the UK-wide grocery market had risen from 3.1 to 3.6 per cent, while rival discount chain Lidl was up from 2.4 to 2.6 per cent.

The increases heaped further pressure on Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, whose market share slipped to 29.7 per cent from 29.9 per cent a month earlier. A year before, it stood at 30.3 per cent.

Aldi’s adverts will feature the strapline, “Give it Aldi”, a play on the phrase “giving it laldy”. The 40-second ads will also air on Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Richard Holloway, the group’s managing director, said: “We know that Aldi’s UK adverts are well-loved, but we wanted to create something special, just for Scottish customers.

“We’ve made a commitment to local sourcing – more than 25 per cent of our product range is now Scottish, and that figure is set to grow. There are more than 200 Scottish products to choose from at our stores, so it’s important that our advertising in Scotland stands out.”

The new adverts have been filmed on location in Glasgow.

Last October, it emerged that Aldi Stores, the British arm of the retailer, had booked a full-year operating profit of £18.7m, compared with an operating loss of £21.2m the previous year, on sales up 4.6 per cent to just over £2.1 billion.

The strong figures, revealed in Companies House accounts, followed a testing 18 months or so for the company, which enjoyed great success during the early days of the credit crunch before its big-name rivals hit back with discount ranges of their own.

Aldi would appear to have benefited more recently from its aggressive marketing campaign, including adverts comparing the taste of its products with top-name brands.