Collaborative: Brand-Retailer
(Long-Term Partnership)
Campaign: Launching Hearth & Fire at Kroger
Brand: Hearth & Fire (Schwan’s Co.)
Retail Partner: Kroger
Agency/Solution Provider: Upshot
To drive awareness and trial of the new line of Hearth & Fire craft pizzas at Kroger, the Schwan’s Co. brand had to raise shopper expectations for the kind of taste experience that a frozen pizza can deliver. A heavily image-driven omnichannel campaign urging shoppers to “Savor the moment” was the solution.
The creative elements were meant to inspire Hearth & Fire’s target audience of “real food fans” to indulge in their highest standards for every pizza occasion. The campaign’s look and feel was enhanced with elegant photographs of the pizzas, wood firing ovens and modern backyard entertaining. Copy described the pizza as being “crafted by artisans and touched by fire,” alluding to its quality ingredients and the care taken in bringing the product to market.
Various offline and online methods were used to drive awareness and consideration. Some 500 consumers received a Hearth & Fire swag box — complete with a Hearth & Fire-branded stemless wine glass, tea towel and product coupons — to encourage product reviews and posts on social media. At the same time, on-site ads delivered by Kroger Precision Marketing were followed by a single subject email to loyal Kroger customers containing a targeted digital coupon.
Kroger shoppers were met in-store with a display including a Hearth & Fire-branded bunker wrap and a large overhead arch, while shelf tags were placed in the freezer section and in the bunkers to highlight the trade promotions. Additionally, secondary display fixtures showcased Hearth & Fire products in a perimeter location in the store. Due to the successful launch, Hearth & Fire gained full-chain distribution in fall 2023.
Collaborative: Brand-Retailer
(Single Activation)
Campaign: Chips Ahoy Fundaes
Brand: Chips Ahoy (Mondelez International)
Retail Partner: Albertsons
Agency/Solution Provider: VMLY&R Commerce
To reverse the recent summer sales declines of its Chips Ahoy brand at Albertsons stores, Mondelez International set its sights on a target audience of “family fun seekers.” These Millennial moms with young children draw inspiration from social platforms like Pinterest to come up with ideas for doing fun, creative things with their families while sticking to their household budget.
Recognizing that a trip to the local ice cream shop for the average family costs around $20 per trip, Chips Ahoy Fundaes brought the ice cream shop experience home for more “daes” of fun without the added expense. Pinterest was used as a leading discovery tool for moms seeking summertime solutions and treats for their kids in the form of varying Fundaes concoctions. Additional paid media further drove awareness and conversions for the Fundaes program.
Consistent creative was leveraged throughout varying tactics across each platform and channel. The brand worked with Albertsons to layer on social tactics that featured private-label ice cream to drive basket size with unique offers (e.g., free private-label ice cream with purchase). On-site media on Albertsons.com and off-site media drew shoppers into the program, and this included in-app banner ads and a landing page virtual banner.
In stores, shoppers were engaged with combo cards, touting appetite appeal and ice cream discounts with Big Book ads, while eye-catching displays helped to close the sale. The combined strength of each of these elements resulted in some fun “daes” for both partners, with Albertsons category units up 7.8% and Chips Ahoy up 10% among families.
Campaign: Class of Groundbreakers
Brand: General Mills (Box Tops for Education)
Retail Partner: Walmart
Agency/Solution Provider: VMLY&R Commerce
Box Tops for Education has a 22-year history of empowering shoppers to give back to their community schools. In addition to a $100,000 donation from General Mills to the superlative educators who formed this year’s class of Groundbreaking teachers, the organization sought to generate $150,000 in additional donations via Box Tops redemptions of General Mills’ products at Walmart stores during the back-to-school season.
As part of an influencer campaign, celebrity Kenan Thompson (the OG Groundbreaker) created fun, engaging content on his social channels that persuaded Walmart shoppers to add Box Tops eligible items to their carts to support their local communities. The program included a simple shopper solution with an exclusive “buy 4, earn 50” bonus Box Tops offer delivered through an omnichannel plan across all touchpoints in Walmart’s ecosystem.
A home page takeover at Walmart.com and sequential POV placements featured recipes, downloadable activity sheets and responsive search ads. Custom experiences within Walmart’s ecosystem, blogs, shoppable videos, quizzes and interactive games all drove Box Tops for Education’s goal with seamless add-to-cart functionality. Some 15,000 branded DTC sample Boxes were shared with Walmart shoppers, associates and influencers across the country.
Shopper Box Tops’ redemption donation goals reached more than 25%. General Mills’ direct donations and Box Tops redemptions combined for more than $300,000 in donations to schools around the country. Ultimately, this also translated to General Mills expanding shopper baskets by 19.1% versus the prior year at Walmart, a key driver in a 19.8% increase in sales volume during the critical back-to-school period.
