McCain renames Potato Balls line

The company has applied to the Intellectual Property Office to register the product as McCain Footballs.

A spokeswoman for the company said part of the reason for the name change was so that the product could be promoted around next summer's FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The Potato Balls product has been trialled in Iceland stores since September and is expected to be rolled out to other food retailers next year.

McCain said it would not confirm plans for any World Cup-themed activity until its budgets had been finalised.

This is not the first time that McCain has shown interest in a sports tie-up.

In May, the company teamed up with Channel 4 to create a TV programme, McCain Track and Field Show, to push its £10m marketing investment in athletics.

The 12-part series aimed to raise consumer awareness of McCain's sponsorship of UK Athletics, which commenced in July 2008.

McCain is spending £5m on the five-year sponsorship deal with UK Athletics, as well as a further £5m activating the tie-up through advertising.

The activity ties in with its long-term marketing strategy, based on the strapline ‘It's all good.'

Last month, McCain relaunched its Prepared Potato range backed by a £7m campaign.

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk