The most wonderful time of the year just got even more wonderful as Hackney Gelato have launched their limited edition Mince Pie Gelato. To ensure it becomes the must try for the festive season they turned to Craft to add extra festive magic to their comms plans.
With this challenge we were keen to ensure that the thinking continued to amplify the Hack-talian narrative of the brand as much as making sure we drove sales. As a period not traditionally advertised in by the broader ice-cream category we saw an opportunity to be noticed and make our mark with a strategic direction that would make us stand out.
We know that the best seasonal campaigns lean into a number of cues, they dial up the scarcity of a product in context of the period and look to drive additional fame through a serve or an idea that buyers can become a part of. This intrigues them and builds consideration with potential buyers. With our target audience being a group we lovingly refer to as ‘True Foodies’ it was important to us that rather than just relying on communications to show them the product, we wanted to bring to life a serving suggestion and a reason to be more noticeable and interesting.
Roll on the reimagined Christmas sandwich
Whether it's Pret, Starbucks or any other retailer in between, the idea of the seasonal sarnie is a familiar concept. When it comes to ice cream however, ice cream sandwiches are often the preserve of summer. Therefore we sought to amplify a familiar food concept with a distinctive twist, dialling up the prominence of the mince pie gelato and arguably the king of Christmas bread based products, panettone.
Based on the truth that our product was highly awarded, and our audience are food obsessed, this culture clash was both a real representation of Hack-talian behaviour and a chance to inspire sales with a twist and a reason to be unduly noticeable and interesting.
To steal our ‘True Foodies’ attention during the key run-up to Christmas when indulgent food and new festive treats are high on the agenda, and to ensure we were able to bring our story as much as the product to life, we looked to a single focused partnership serving London. The benefit in this being the mix between reaching audiences at scale, consistency in tone of voice, and use of multiple touchpoints. This was all planned to coincide with retailer pushes and wider social and influencer activity run by the team at Hackney Gelato.
Bringing this to life
The Evening Standard were the partner selected from a short-list of contenders to help bring our festive foodie facing fantasy to life. Allow we had a tight budget the clarity in what we were doing and why we wanted to be seen. Two double page spread advertorials in the ES Mag will be supported by a digital brand story running across the ES website, both giving readers the chance to enter a competition to win a Festive Hamper.
On the 25th Hackney Gelato will also appear across London as we take over the 500+ bills and trolley posters where people can pick up their copy of the mag.
The campaign will be further supported by full page ads in the Standard, a strip on the front page of The Reveller, paid social video ads and influencer partnerships.
