Insight
Rica wanted to launch its new evaporated milk, a key ingredient used in hundreds of Dominican recipes. For years, Nestlé has been the leading evaporated milk in the market with a 96% market share. Rica’s goal was to increase brand awareness, trial and gain a 2% market share.
Pages BBDO/OMD knew that many of the traditional Dominican recipes that have been passed down through generations included Rica’s evaporated milk. This gave the agency the opportunity to create a campaign that would give meaning and context to all those historical recipes.
Strategy
Dominican family recipes have been passed down through generations and have been part of different historical moments in the nation’s history, but have never been assembled together in a historical context. The agency’s task was to find a way to make the target feel special by elevating their family recipes and heritage.
The strategy was to turn a product launch into a national call to action by finding a new way of writing and experiencing the nation’s history through taste, involving historians, anthropologists, sociologists, expert chefs, celebrities and even the government. These key people played a vital role by lending support to the campaign by helping bring people together around a promotion that was bigger than a promotion; it was a call to write history.
Execution
The promotion launched with an integrated campaign that invited people to dig deep into their family heritage to find these recipes and the stories that came with them. The agency conducted a series of PR activities: Celebrity chefs in their cooking shows would perform recipes and share their historical importance. They also created live events where these recipes were cooked and their stories shared. These recipes were also used in restaurants promoting the campaign and its historical value. Trendsetters, social media, direct marketing, mass media and special events were used to promote the recipes and stories that were submitted.
By purchasing Rica’s evaporated milk, its customers received an access code to the promotion’s website, where they would upload their recipes, family pictures and share their stories, creating a movement that involved historians, anthropologists, sociologists and expert chefs that made the campaign the project of a nation. Over 42,000 recipes were uploaded to the website; 400 that touched different historical moments in the nation’s history were chosen and compiled into a book called Gastronomic Heritage.
Results
- Over 14,000 recipes were uploaded during the campaign’s first week and 42,000 by the end of the three-month promotion.
- The campaign gained free press through different media channels.
- Rica’s market share increased by 14%, surpassing its 2% objective.
- Sales increased by 65%.
- A documentary and reality show are being filmed.
- 400 recipes were compiled into the Gastronomic Heritage book.
- The book is in the history section of bookstores across the country, in Dominican websites, in schools and forms part of the nation's historical archive.
This campaign scooped the award for 'Best Original Content' at The Festival of Media LatAm Awards 2013.