What’s working in
sauces, seasoning &
condiments campaigns
Campaign updates and category trends
Talking points: sauces, seasoning
& condiment strategies
Food brands are injecting
emotional interest into a
traditionally functional
category
Knorr used social sharing of recipes and a
‘dating app’ format to reach a millennial
audience.
Kecap ABC used videos with celebrity chefs to
present itself as a champion of Indonesian
mums.
There is still mileage for
food brands in high-reach
‘event TV’ as a brand builder
Heinz spent on the Super Bowl to grow
consumer awareness of the brand portfolio.
Fiesta Spaghetti sponsored a segment on a
top rated variety show to gain reach and
exposure among its target audience.
Food-related contests can
resonate with household
decision makers and
influence cooking patterns
Knorr engaged mums in a branded content
“nutritious” recipe battle campaign.
Sambal ABC used sampling games to cut
through the clutter and retain its share
leadership position.
Nutella influenced a lifestyle shift among
Taiwanese mothers through a live-streamed
cooking contest.
Emotional interest
North America/UK
Knorr builds millennial usage
Investigating the role food plays
in millennial lifestyles
Knorr had lost relevance for millennial foodies; it
needed fresh insights to build relevance in this market.
Objectives
Reposition and create an emotional connection with
millennial foodies to lift brand equity measures.
20bn 60m
impressions
views
28%
positive
sentiment
Insight
For millennials, food is a source of expression. Food
preferences are even used as a way to select potential
partners on dating apps.
Takeaways
•
Look at food as a lifestyle marker for millennials
•
Build PR into marketing ideas to make your
budget go further
•
Socially inventive initiatives can attract
millennials to product sampling
Strategy
A PR-able social experiment matched singles based on
their flavour preferences. Knorr used a combination of
video, social media, a ‘flavor profiler’ application and
recipes to generate earned PR and social sharing
among millennials.
Read the full case study on WARC
Knorr case study
Asia
Kecap ABC’s turnaround campaign
New brand positioning increased
sales and engagement
Soy sauce brand Kecap ABC had lost over 25% of the
brand’s market share in Indonesia over 10 years and
needed to regain momentum and grow.
Objectives
Present functional product benefits to regain relevance
among housewives.
20%
market share
20m
views
Takeaways
Insight
Indonesian mothers focused on family first and doing the
best for their family. Deep down they hoped to receive
some semblance of appreciation.
•
Social executions putting the target audience in
the spotlight can highlight the product to other
consumer groups as well
•
Give consumers a platform where they can
personalise messages
Strategy
Launch of a new logo across all touchpoints, a TV campaign
and an online recipe site hosted by a celebrity chef,
highlighted the brand as an enabler of family appreciation
and a tool for social change by ensuring that families put
mothers first.
Read the full case study on WARC
Event TV
North America
Heinz brand portfolio awareness
Advertising during the Super Bowl
builds brand buzz
Heinz built brand awareness through a simple execution
utilising a big media event.
Objectives
Heinz in the US needed to increase consumer consideration
for portfolio condiment products other than mainstay ketchup.
Insight
Condiments are a low-involvement category and are usually
paired with a host food so it can be challenging to get the
consumer to pay attention.
21bn 40m
impressions
views
#1
shared Super
Bowl ad
Takeaways
•
Humour can drive social sharing, which
increases earned media ad exposure
•
Big event placement builds brand interest and
social buzz
•
Personify your brand and make it the star of
your campaign executions
Strategy
Super Bowl video ad that saw Heinz sauces portray
dachshunds in hotdog costumes, running towards humans
dressed as Heinz products; the video ran on social media,
Mashable, and a ‘celebrity’ dog engaged with fans.
Read the full case study on WARC
Heinz case study
Asia
Fiesta Spaghetti retaining market share
Connecting with lower-income
mothers to maintain leadership
position
Fiesta Spaghetti in the Philippines was facing tough competition
from another dominant player in the sauce category.
25%
202%
growth
product sales
growth during
campaign
Objectives
Become a more frequently used meal solution.
Takeaways
Insight
•
Understanding what is important from the
consumers’ perspective and offering a solution
to a situation is critical in guiding the approach
•
Knocking down usage barriers and offering a
variety of options can increase consideration
potential
•
Offering easy and cost effective options to
primary household purchase decision makers will
build usage and consumption
A barrier to spaghetti usage is that it is costly and, as it is usually
served as a snack, is seen as taking too much time to prepare.
Strategy
Fiesta sponsored a segment on the country’s top-rated midday variety show, Eat Bulaga, for reach and exposure. An iconic
song (Spaghetti Song) was used in TV and radio executions to
boost engagement and recall.
Read the full case study on WARC
Food-related games
Asia
Knorr contest engagement
Digitally integrated branded content
Unilever’s Knorr cooking contest in Taiwan increased sales
by utilising engaging web videos.
27.2m
contest
participants
Objectives
Knorr needed to engage its core audience of working mums
to reverse decline in the frequency of home cooking for
dinner.
79.6%
Insight
brand value
share
Working mums want to cook a well-balanced nutritious meal
for their children. Homemade food is safer, and dining
together also enhances family bonding. Cooking for their
families is an expression of love and care for their children.
Many follow tips from food bloggers.
Strategy
A digitally led branded contest leveraging Knorr’s positioning
as “mum’s best helper” to activate consumer interest and
engagement: The ‘Nutritious Meal-Cooking Contest’
campaign linked recipes to parenting sites, and included
blogger involvement.
Takeaways
•
Engaging activations, like contests, actively
involve consumers with brands and build
excitement
•
The input of social media influencers creates
product authenticity and interest
Read the full case study on WARC
Chuck Chen, Unilever marketing team, Taiwan Knorr
Asia
Sambal ABC uses ‘chilli challenges’
Using game promotion to expand
product usage habits
Sambal ABC in Indonesia retained its leadership position
by increasing product consumption patterns.
Objectives
Kraft’s Sambal ABC brand in Indonesia had a hold over
the market with a 52% value market share, so the brand
set out to increase consumption and sales to retain that
leadership position.
Insight
Consumers perceive chilli sauce as something that
should only be paired with three or four kinds of food,
limiting product consumption growth.
6.5%
consumption
growth
3%
market share
increase
Takeaways
•
Combine gaming activity with product usage
experience to create sampling opportunities
•
Behavioural change barriers can be shifted by
engaging consumers through gaming activations
Strategy
Positioned as a ‘toy’, the sauce was promoted with
sampling games OOH, which then shifted to mobile and
TV amplification.
Read the full case study on WARC
Asia
Nutella live-streaming event
Changing consumer habits
through a live ‘recipe battle’
Nutella in Taiwan influenced breakfast culture with a
campaign that persuaded consumers to adjust patterns
and prepare food at home.
Objectives
Increase brand awareness and demonstrate taste
convenience.
Insight
Taiwanese breakfast culture was shifting from out-ofhome options to home-cooked meals made by mothers.
Strategy
A live Facebook-streamed contest leveraged the social
power of opinion leaders to ensure that Nutella audiences
engaged in a ‘breakfast preparation session’ – social
media posts and news media placements were also used
to increase reach.
19%
350k
sales growth
views
18%
brand awareness
increase
Takeaways
•
Be imaginative with engaging live activations
to shift cultural patterns
•
Mothers are influenced by bloggers and
opinion leaders that they can relate to
Read the full case study on WARC
More from WARC
Brand and category intelligence
About WARC
Contact us
WARC offers advertisers the latest
brand and category information,
including:
WARC.com is an online service
offering advertising best practice,
evidence and insights from the
world’s leading brands. WARC helps
clients grow their businesses by using
proven approaches to maximise
advertising effectiveness.
London
85 Newman Street
London
W1T 3EU
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 20 7467 8100
enquiries@WARC.com
•
In-depth examples of the challenges
brands have faced, and the insights
that powered their campaigns;
•
Exclusive brand strategy reports
from 60+ media, marketing and tech
conferences from around the world;
•
Inspiration from the most-awarded
campaigns in every category.
WARC’s tailored email alerts service
allows you to stay in touch with the
brands, categories and topics that
matter to you.
Find out more at warc.com
WARC’s clients include the world’s
largest advertising and media
agencies, research companies,
universities and advertisers.
Washington
DC 2233 Wisconsin Ave NW Suite
535 Washington
DC 20007
United States
+1 202 778 0680
americas@WARC.com
Singapore
20A Teck Lim Road
Singapore
088391
+65 3157 6200
asiapacific@WARC.com