Following the success of the first-ever America's Better Sandwich Contest, Bimbo Bakeries (parent company of Arnold®, Brownberry®, and Oroweat® brands) leaned on Coyne PR once again to make the contest's return in year two even better.
In a category that has been feeling the heat of fad diet trends for years - from Atkins to gluten free - the America's Better Sandwich Contest focuses on the goodness of whole grains. The socially-driven contest searches the nation for sandwich recipes that cater to both great flavor and wholesome nutrition. From June – November 2015, sandwich lovers were encouraged to submit better-for-you recipes in a series of categories. Finalist recipes were displayed on a contest website and public voting helped determine the $25,000 grand prize winner, announced on National Sandwich Day, November 3.
Using the first years contest results as a benchmark, Coyne outlined specific social media goals with the brand to define success for the return of the America's Better Sandwich Contest.
The campaign's three main objectives and goals were:
- Generate exposure and awareness of the America's Better Sandwich Contest by increasing social and digital impressions by 5x from 2014
- Leverage social media to increase traffic to the contest website by 7x from 2014
- Capture new audiences and convert to new followers to grow social fan base by 2%
STRATEGY
Coyne set out to make the contest better in its second year by stacking upon the success established in its inaugural year. Social media was the driving force to let consumers know the America's Better Sandwich Contest was back and awarding another $25,000!
Coyne's social approach considered two key elements:
-Leverage the brand's expanded social presence
During the first year of the contest, Facebook was the brand's only social media platform. Coyne recommended the brand expand its social presence to connect and be relevant with its target demographic of women. In addition to Facebook, paid and organic content strategies were established for Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to drive contest messaging and consumer participation.
-Leverage contest partnerships across social media to maximize opportunities
Coyne recommended to increase and deepen its chef and registered dietitians partnerships for year two of the contest. Coyne identified opportunities to tap into their networks and leverage their influence across social media.
IMPLEMENTATION
A socially-driven campaign was implemented to drive awareness and consumer participation through the different phases of the contest.
A BuzzFeed partnership increased brand exposure and generated social buzz for the America's Better Sandwich Contest
Unique and fun content was created and distributed through BuzzFeed's social and digital network during the course of the contest. The partnership was leveraged to help own the conversation on National Sandwich Day with a sponsored homepage feature on www.buzzfeed.com that coincided with the contest winner announcement.
Partnerships with chefs and registered dietitians were implemented to borrow equity and capture new audiences
Registered Dietitians Katie Cavuto held a takeover of the brand's Twitter account with exclusive content and contest messaging. For the winner announcement, Chef Fabio Viviani hosted a live broadcast on the brand's Periscope with the grand prize-winner, $25,000 check presentation and demo of the winning sandwich.
A targeted, multi-platform social advertising campaign leveraged contest content to expand reach and drive traffic to the landing page
Social advertising was expanded this year to include both Facebook and Twitter, leveraging each platform's targeting capabilities to reach the brand's target audience.
With the addition of Twitter, the brand leveraged platform-specific products including Twitter Cards and whitelisting campaigns. Twitter Cards provided an enhanced rich-media experience to drive traffic to the contest website and whitelisting leveraged third-party tweets to increase awareness.
A dedicated hashtag #BetterSandwich drove social conversations and brand mentions
#BetterSandwich was included in all communications with social calls-to-action and links. The brand monitored the hashtag conversations and engaged with fans in real-time, driving additional conversation.
With social media as the main driver, the 2nd Annual America's Better Sandwich Contest was a huge success and surpassed its objective goals.
Objective #1: Increase exposure and awareness of the America's Better Sandwich Contest
With the help of chefs, registered dietitians, influencers and content partners, the contest generated nearly 47 million total impressions, a 7x increase from the previous year. Fans were pleased to see the contest return and eager to enter their recipe for a chance at the grand prize.
Objective #2: Leverage social media to increase traffic to the contest website
Organic and paid social media, including content, ads and partnerships, included calls-to-action that drove fans to the contest website. In year two of the contest, the website saw a 10x increase from the previous year as a direct result of social media initiatives.
Objective #3: Capture new audiences and convert to social followers
The $25,000 grand prize and uniqueness of the America's Better Sandwich contest, to create a better-for-you sandwich recipe, captured the attention of new audiences and helped grow the brand's total social following by 3% across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, through the course of the campaign.
