Heinz UK had experimented with creator content in 2021. The results were so delicious that they decided to move on to the main course and partner with a select group of creator ambassadors for 2022.
The ambassadors would help build the brand through reach and awareness but more than that, they would help Heinz build their place within culture. Heinz has a diverse offering which matches a range of host foods and people needed to be reminded.
Heinz is well established in the UK however to remain on the tables at meal times it had to meet people where they went for inspiration: social media.
Foodie subcultures and communities influence culture at large with breakthrough trends like #SalmonRiceBowl, #WhippedCoffee and #AirFryerRecipes amassing billions of views on TikTok alone.
Our audience is on social too: young demographics and families (16 - 44) who are flavor seekers and enjoy cooking.
And like everyone else, they trust the recommendations of those closest to them.
67% of respondents agreed that the closer the messenger is to a person, the more they trust them in the later stages of their knowledge journey (which starts with awareness and ends with a decision).
Ad Council’s 2022 Trusted Messenger Study
Creators already have the trust of their followers. They’re one step closer to the audience and that’s what brands like Heinz benefit from when they partner with creators.
It’s a long-term game with serious pay-offs so our ambassadors had to be carefully selected for their emotion-driven storytelling, versatility (in working new products into any meal) and the creative chops to make people eat with their eyes.
EXECUTION
Our five #HeinzMasterz were as diverse as the audience. They came from within different foodie and lifestyle communities like Family Hackers, Young Foodies and The Innovators.
Key seasonal moments helped us align themed content with products like Christmas, Summer BBQ time and Halloween.
New products were paired with everyday meal moments in surprising takes on classic recipes to show the vast range of products and perennial presence of the brand.
Cultural Cook @renes.cravings surprised her audience with the cultural fusion of western Heinz ingredients in her traditional Indian dishes. This content allowed Heinz to tap into different cultures by showing Heinz at every dinner table.
Scratch Cook @.jack.cooks easy to follow step-by-step recipe videos helped him achieve consistently high engagement rates. And his ‘meal under a fiver’ content performed well as it appreciated the national mood and cost of living crisis.
High Quality Meals Made Easy @thisisplanetfood saw the strongest brand recall, with the brand highlighted within the first few seconds of their videos, multiple product shots, and brand cues through the use of product, voiceover and text overlay. Their winning recipe was unusual: Heinz baked beans in dessert! It drove interest, satisfaction and craving which confirmed that people are open to trying Heinz products in new ways.
Easy Family Style Meals @squashedpickle was particularly good at driving intent to purchase (86%). Every product she featured was naturally something she would use in her cog so the content felt natural and her key ingredients for increasing engagement were story frames with heavier text and the full recipe on screen.
Vegan Creator with a Cultural Twist @veganezer was the top performer for emotional response with light-hearted, passionate and joyful videos. His personality-led videos elicited strong positive emotions that saw high levels of interest and inspiration.
Our ambassadors achieved results up and down the funnel:
AWARENESS
Participants had a much stronger top-of-mind awareness of Heinz after seeing the campaign.
+15.5% TikTok
+32.5% Instagram
OPINION
People’s opinion of Heinz rose after seeing the campaign
+2pts TikTok
+9pts Instagram
PERCEPTION / Price Elasticity
Participants were quicker to agree that Heinz is worth paying more for
+11.2% TikTok
+18.1% Instagram
INTENT
80% of people intend to purchase after viewing the campaign.
+4.3% TikTok
+1.5% Instagram
SOLD OUT
Black Garlic Mayo sold out soon after our Halloween campaign.
SOCIAL
18.5M Reached vs. 9.1M planned
315 Days Total play time on Tiktok - almost a year of Heinz viewing!
9.2K Shares of Heinz recipes on TikTok.
6K Saves of Heinz recipes on Instagram.
Audience Comments
@baking_withbaby Oooo these sound absolutely delicious! Love heinz products and had no idea they had a cookbook - I will have to add that one to my collection 😀
@threadhead22 Genius! I think I’ll do this for din din tonight 😍
