THE CHALLENGE:
Cheez-It – the multi-million-dollar US snack brand – wanted to launch in the UK with a bang, supported by a new TV ad focussing on the powerful ‘Cheez-hit’ it gives snack lovers. We were tasked with translating the brand’s cheeky humour and cult US status to an audience of Brits, dialling up the product’s real cheese credentials.
THE IDEA:
We knew that the brand’s real-cheese positioning was its USP and going to be key in bringing British snackers into the Cheez-It world. But, just how much do Brits love cheese? A lot it seems. As we ventured into the black hole of cheese fandom we uncovered an underground, obsessive group of cheese addicts that literally live and breathe their cheesy desires – from cheese for breakfast to cheese-region inspired holidays.
So how could our audience’s love affair with cheese play into wider British culture and give us a platform to launch Cheez-It, secure masses of coverage and encourage trial and purchase?
Channel 4’s The Traitors was seeing record viewing figures, with 6.4million tuning in every week to see a cloak-wearing Claudia Winkleman every week. Which got us thinking. Our history is full of secret societies and underground worlds where people come together to share the same beliefs and passions. This was our light bulb moment.
Borrowing visual and brand cues from the Freemasons and other clandestine fraternities, we launched The Cheez-Masons Society turning Brits’ obsession with the yellow stuff into an exclusive members-only club and platform for us to launch Cheez-It in the UK. We created the ultimate home for Britain’s secret cheese obsessives to taste the new, cheesiest of cheesy snack about to land on UK supermarket shelves.
Our six-month campaign included a photo stunt, launch event, influencer programme and the recruitment of a brand ambassador, allowing us to get our product in front of the biggest cheese aficionados in the UK who would then happily share their love for the new snack far and wide.
THE RESULTS:
251 pieces of coverage including 12 nationals. 100% of coverage included a brand mention and 100% real cheese positioning in the headline or first paragraph
The campaign reached 190 million people (OTS) (vs KPI of 100m) with a social reach of 1.2m (vs KPI of 250k)
50 top journalists attended the event including Buzzfeed, Metro and Daily Telegraph along with 450 members of the public
Influencer content delivered engagement rate of 85.9% – more than four times the benchmark of 22%
64% of our target audience (18-35 year olds) have now heard of Cheez-It (18% of all Brits)
After seeing the coverage, more than half (51%) were likely to purchase the snack
Campaign recall was 63% (average is 40%)
