Aldi sign

In Australia, discount grocer Aldi is set to break an eight-year habit by airing its first television advertising campaign in the country.

The Germany-based group is launching a series of weekly adverts, broadcasting on all three of the country's free-to-air commercial television channels, according to local media reports.

Aldi had previously opted to keep marketing costs to a minimum, claiming that a refusal to engage in such campaigns was one of the reasons it was able to keep prices lower than competitors Coles and Woolworths.

However, having now opened a total of 200 outlets across the country's eastern seaboard, the group decided that television promotion has become a viable medium, Aldi's MD of buying in Australia Matthew Barnes told local media.