Whether it’s a seasoned baker or novice in the kitchen, everyone needs a little help to ensure their holiday treats turn out just right. And with 76% of consumers planning to bake cookies and 458K+ online mentions about baking cookies in Q4 ‘10, Hershey’s created Cookie Headquarters to become the ultimate online baking resource for consumers. Using the newly launched Hershey’s Kisses Twitter handle, Hershey’s baking experts conducted daily engagement (8-12 hours/day, Nov-Dec) with consumers who were passionate about baking cookies, answering their questions with personalized responses using the tag #CookieHQ. In addition to answering direct questions to the handle, Hershey’s proactively found users talking about baking cookies to suggest recipes and tips to address their holiday baking needs. To drive additional awareness and engagement, Hershey’s incorporated paid media via Promoted Tweets/Accounts and hosted a series of Twitter chats with mom blogger organization, Mom It Forward.“Taking an iconic brand like Hershey’s Kisses onto Twitter was no simple task. We started with a consumer insight that showed consumers loved baking with our brand, and Cookie Headquarters became a way for consumers to showcase and share their love of baking cookies, and learn from others just in time for the holiday season. The positive results showed that consumers welcomed us into their kitchens and shared the joy of Hershey’s Kisses with friends and loved ones this holiday season." - Anna Lingeris, Manager of Global Brand PR & Consumer Engagement for Hershey’s Results In just two months (Nov/Dec), and as a result of an integrated media campaign for Cookie Headquarters, the Hershey’s Kisses team secured the following results: 1) Hershey’s Kisses now has a valuable asset in the @HersheysKisses Twitter account, with 180+ online influencers and 6,600+ consumers following it (1,725% growth since start of program). 2) Hershey’s share of online baking cookies conversations (SOC) doubled from the previous two month period and online related conversation about Hershey’s increased 438% over the previous period. The following components impacted this growth: – #CookieHQ hashtag used 14,875 times by 898 people, resulting in 34.6 million possible social impressions. Top 25 contributors of the tag fell in brand’s target demographic. – Twitter chat series resulted in 35.9 million impressions, 6,411 tweets, 2,017 clicks to Hershey’s digital properties and helped Hershey’s build relationships with more than 180+ online influencers, all within target demographic of females, 25-44 years old. – Hundreds of consumers engaged with Hershey’s - more than 740 questions were answered and suggestions provided via the Hershey’s Kisses baking team, primarily via Twitter. 3) Paid media grew Hershey’s Kisses social properties: – Paid media components including Twitter’s Promoted Accounts secured higher than average follow rate of .46%, bringing in 4,733 new followers; also resulted in 1,030,556 impressions and 2,550 profile views. Promoted tweets resulted in 583,000 impressions, 5,670 clicks to profile, 352 retweets and 52 replies on Twitter. – Via promoted tweets, able to bring precise target demographics into follower base including females (87%) who were food and mom bloggers (9% new follower base), and Twitter users who are passionate about baking (1% of new follower base). Promoted accounts provided .46% follow rate, above the average .1-.3%.
