Campaign Summary
Brass created McVitie's first ever digital promotional activity for Jamaica Ginger Cake.
The brief
The cake category is fiercely competitive with numerous brands vying for attention at the point of purchase. Families typically shop across a wide repertoire of products and more often than not, choose purely on price deal.
McVitie's were looking for an emotive campaign to differentiate Jamaica Ginger Cake. They wanted to reinvigorate the brand in tandem with new recipes and packaging. Ultimately they wanted to attract new users and usages for the cake.
The Approach
Our research suggested that McVitie's Jamaica Ginger Cake was well loved by those in the know. It scored well in consumer reviews, featured in many recipes for desserts and was even a recommended 'cheat' by chefs. We needed to spread the word, but budgets didn't allow for an impactful retail media campaign. Our approach was to move the campaign further up the shopper journey and deliver a powerful online experience as a trigger to purchase.
Under the campaign banner of 'A Slice of Happiness' Brass created a new website, Facebook presence and You Tube videos, utilising Jamaican born TV chef Rustie Lee as the celebrity brand ambassador. A 'happiness' playlist on Spotify, featured reggae and rock and roll music to add to the brand vibe.
Recipe ideas from Rustie illustrated the versatility of one of the UK's favourite cakes and demonstrated its role as a key ingredient in everything from tropical trifles to good-time gateaux. Brass then ran Facebook advertising and a competition with consumers to get further ideas that received a huge and innovative response. These now feature within regular social media updates to a growing legion of Jamaica Ginger Cake fans.
Results
Our campaign really engaged with the target audience, driving significant web traffic and creating thousands of new fans on Facebook . For 2012 we'll be leveraging the digital assets, using online content, promotions and e-coupons to bring in new and lapsed users and drive trial and repeat purchase