In a year that saw all in-person sampling come to a halt because of COVID-19 safety restrictions, the task was to drive awareness of the new product and introduce it as a premium biscuit.

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While generating awareness of the new product was the main objective, it was also important to our client to foster and nurture a growing community of McVitie’s advocates online. This is something that we considered with the campaign.

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Objective:

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• Drive awareness of the new ‘McVitie’s Fully Coated One’ biscuits, measurable by overall reach and impressions.

• Sample product in a way that complied with COVID-19 restrictions.

• Create and nurture relationships with existing McVitie’s customers, turning customers into advocates.

 

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Approach:

A key insight we gained from past work with this brand, was that a high volume of customers on Instagram and Facebook would Direct Message the brand page, asking for samples to be sent to them – particularly after PR and Influencer activity. Customers would also regularly message the brand with feedback on certain biscuits.

Through close monitoring, we determined that there was an appetite for exclusive samples of McVitie’s products and a keen investment in such a well-known household brand. With this in mind, we devised a digital sampling activation that hero-ed the brand’s valued customers.

Introducing McVitie’s MVP - McVitie’s People!

We created a campaign that invited the country's biggest McVitie’s fans (our MVPs!) to become “official biscuit testers” and sample the new Fully Coated range before anyone else. We then followed up with a survey so they could tell us exactly what they liked, or didn’t like, about the new McVitie’s offering.

Our strategy meant we could both nurture a relationship with our customers and promote the new product.

HOW IT WORKED

1.We created an identity and landing page for the promotion located at www.mcvitiesmvp.com.

2.On this landing page, customers could fill out a form to apply to be a McVitie’s MVP and receive the free biscuits.

3.Once signed up, we would send them an email confirming that their product had been sent to their home by direct mail in a McVitie’s branded envelope.

4.One week later, we sent them another email with a link to a product survey at www.mcvitiesmvp.com/survey, so they could let us know their thoughts.

 

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Results:

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• In the first three days of the campaign, demand exceeded supply and more sampling product had to be secured to ensure no biscuit fan was left disappointed.

 

• We received in excess of 1,000 survey responses that provided our client with valuable feedback about the product as well as useful consumer insights.