2023 Gold FMCG

Agency: Ogilvy UK

Client: Philadelphia UK & Ireland

Entry Name: Simply Better With Philadelphia

Executive Summary

The cost-of-living crisis meant brand perceptions made it a luxurious treat, not an essential. After years of growth, shoppers were switching to cheaper supermarket owned versions.

Strategy

Philadelphia did one thing own-label couldn’t: build an emotional not functional connection through tough times. While economic uncertainty drives bargain hunting, it also drives a need for comfort. In an ever-changing world filled with stress and uncertainty, the brand reminded shoppers that their creamy comforting favourite didn’t just make a toasted bagel better, it made everything better.

Creativity

Simply Better With Philadelphia reminded the audience the product could elevate whatever meal it's in.

Hyper-relevant creative was at the core of the campaign. To spread the message, mouth-watering imagery was paired with simple emotional language in multi-variant integrated campaign across Out Of Home, Social, Influencer and PR.

Using behavioural science and data, messages based on interests, life-stage, time of day and even geolocation were created. The team spoke to office workers using time-sensitive messaging with digital POS at popular lunch locations. On social, it created specific content for parents experiencing new and exciting milestones; gamers looking for a mid-round snack; and Netflix bingers on the hunt for a new show.

To build stronger bonds with unique communities, a collective of ‘Philly influencers’ was built across TikTok and Instagram, showing how Philadelphia improved their meals and days.

Results

Not only did the campaign improve sales performance, it also informed learnings about marketing in tough financial times. Quality brands are not safe - if they are perceived as a luxury they can easily be swapped out by stressed shoppers for own brand alternatives.

After a period of decline, the campaign prompted a 20% increase in RSV and 3% growth in volume sales to the campaign.

It generated over 597 million paid impressions and drove a +7.2% lift in ad recall across digital channels.

Social media drove 6 million views across Facebook and Instagram alone, over-performing benchmarks by 38%.

YouTube had a 35% VTR, a 60% increase over category standards.

The influencer collective inspired their communities, earning over 33% VVR, a 65% increase over benchmarks.

Contributors

Publicis Media