Woolworths has registered a trademark for ‘Woolworths Local’ as the supermarket brand moves to play up its relationship with local suppliers in its marketing, in-store and online.
The retailer has created marketing imagery using a new ‘W Local’ label, according to Fairfax reports which said the ‘Local’ tag may be used as product branding and as a retail banner across its retail outlets.
Woolworths declined to comment when contacted by B&T.
The domain name www.woolworths.com.au has been registered and Woolies has also registered ‘Woolworths Local’ as a trademark for its own branding, packaging and retail operations purposes.
Woolies told Fairfax the new label may be used as branding for its frozen, tinned, snack and packaged foods.
Woolies has lodged a trade mark application for two new logos, both pictured below. The trademark applications were discovered by TM Watch site last week, for more details click here.
The move is in response to criticism of the supermarket giants’ relationships with their suppliers and the affect the price war between Woolies and Coles has on local suppliers.
Woolworth’s pitch to be seen as a local hero mirrors Sainsbury’s 1998 re-brand of its smaller shops to ‘Sainsbury’s Local’.
Last year, Woolworths unleashed its new advertising campaign via Droga5 that pushed its fresh food credentials.
The quirky spots were designed to showcase the people behind the Woolworths facade, including the farmers and staff.
The work was welcomed by the advertising community, described as refreshing with "loads of personality" the work was seen as a wise step back from the Coles versus Woolies tit-for-tat tactic.
