ShopRite, the New Jersey-based supermarket chain, identified Melissa Gorga of Bravo’s Real Housewives of New Jersey fame as an ideal influencer campaign partner. Melissa is a long-time ShopRite shopper and a busy mom of three, who lives in the heart of our trading area, as do many of her 2.8 Million Instagram Followers.
We noted that the audio from one of Melissa’s most famous clips from an early episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey began to go viral on TikTok and Instagram just before the 2023 Holiday Season. The trending audio referenced an iconic disagreement between Melissa and her sister-in-law and co-star, Teresa, over the best type of cookies to bring to a holiday party. Melissa’s fans created their own social media posts with the audio and supported Melissa’s choice–the Sprinkle Cookie.
ShopRite approached Melissa with the idea to finally unveil her Sprinkle Cookie recipe by co-producing a baking tutorial video to premiere on the ShopRite YouTube Channel and Website. We wanted to be the first brand to tap into Melissa's sprinkle cookie fame and share her famous recipe with our joint audiences. Because it's iconic, and we love to do iconic campaigns ;)!
ShopRite filmed with Melissa at her New Jersey home, recreating her Sprinkle Cookie recipe featuring ingredients from ShopRite’s own Bowl & Basket brand. Melissa walked the audience through each step of the recipe, incorporating a personal touch with her own baking tips & tricks and cheeky Real Housewives of New Jersey references, as a nod to her huge fan base. The video premiered on the ShopRite YouTube Channel in early December 2023, and linked back to the ShopRite.com website, so viewers could add all of the ingredients to their carts and check out in one easy step. Digitally-minded customers could be inspired by the campaign and have their ingredients ready to be picked up or delivered from any ShopRite store that same day.
This iconic campaign garnered an impressive 2.8M YouTube impressions, beating our channel benchmark by over 5500%! The video resonated with our audience, as evidenced by the overwhelmingly positive comments: “I’m a ShopRite girl myself!! Can’t wait to try your recipe❤️❤️❤️” “Best collab of the year!! @shopritestores iconic❤️❤️❤️” “Omg the sprinkle cookie legend!!!” "Sprinkle cookies for the win!"-@OKMagazine
Ultimately, we achieved an increase in awareness for our growing YouTube Channel and for our Bowl & Basket line during the busy holiday season.
