When Oscar Mayer launched their new Butcher Thick Cut bacon, our mission was to raise awareness for the new product and prove they had the thickest, most bad-ass bacon on the market. Since our research showed that there are more online conversations about bacon than about Kanye West, Tom Cruise, and Lady Gaga, our objective was simple: focus all that conversation around Butcher Thick Cut. So, we sent a guy from New York to LA with no cash and no credit cards—just a refrigerated trailer full of Oscar Mayer’s new Butcher Thick Cut bacon to barter for everything he needed along the way. The result was a social media-powered journey where digital techniques harnessed real-world bacon passion to make Oscar Mayer the most talked about bacon brand in America. Oscar Mayer - The Great American Bacon Barter from 360i on Vimeo. Since Josh had to barter his bacon for everything he needed along the way—food, gas, and nightly lodging— his journey was shaped by the people who joined his cause through his @BaconBarter Twitter handle and on BaconBarter.com. Each day, Josh took to Oscar Mayer’s social media communities for new barters – and as people talked, the media took notice. Behind explosive social engagement and thousands of stories in the press, the campaign became a cultural phenomenon, putting Oscar Mayer’s Butcher Thick Cut bacon at the center of the conversation. By the time Josh reached LA, he had physically bartered 2,168 bricks of bacon with over 1,000 bacon-lovers across 3,125 miles. The campaign earned over 335 million earned media impressions, with major media outlets like The New York Times, The Huffington Post, USA Today and NPR covering the journey. Conversations about Oscar Mayer doubled during the campaign, and the brand saw a 41% increase in positive sentiment. Oscar Mayer became America’s most talked about bacon brand, generating more online buzz than its four biggest competitors combined.
