“SHOWING THE WORLD WHAT SMILES ARE MADE OF”

Ice cream is tickle-the-brain food, and putting smiles on faces has been Dreyer’s reason for being for over 80 years. But a quarter of ice cream buyers were willing to forego one of life’s simple pleasures, thinking ice cream was indulgent and reduced-fat options were unfulfilling -- while 90% would buy or enjoy ice cream more often if only a “light” ice cream tasted as good as traditional ice cream.

So we decided to give America “a Reason to Smile.” To help more consumers discover the great taste of Dreyer’s Slow Churned Light Ice Cream, we went on a national tasting tour to renew consumers’ relationship with our “smile food,” and capture smiles by the pixel. We knew we’d draw spontaneous smiles when consumers learned our ice cream had all the taste but half the fat. But we also gave them a chance to turn their smile into a $5 donation to help others less fortunate smile – and fund cleft-palate surgeries for our nonprofit partner, Operation Smile, so many children could smile for the first time.

Our smile offensive worked. We sampled ice cream and captured thousands of smiles on camera and online – uploading them on Facebook for the world to see – and reminding consumers our “smile food” is enjoyable for good reasons.

The campaign generated 930 million media impressions, and has increased Dreyer’s dollar share in the premium category by 2.8% since launch. National awareness of our “all-the-taste, half-the-fat” message increased 17% nationally. Dreyer’s has funded 500 surgeries thanks to smiling people nationwide.

Collecting smiles. Giving media the scoop.

Operation Smile was the perfect partner, since inspiring smiles has been at the crux of both of our missions for decades. Together, we spent the summer sampling scoops of Dreyer’s Slow Churned and photographing the spontaneous smiles of people delighted to learn that something so rich and creamy was half the fat of ordinary ice cream. That alone was “A Reason to Smile,” but then we donated $5 to Operation Smile for each photo taken during our tour or uploaded to Facebook. To extend the campaign, we distributed coupons on Facebook, so consumers could support the cause and sample Dreyer’s Slow Churned. Operation Smile advocate / celebrity Brooke Burke launched the campaign, giving the first scoop to EXTRA TV host Maria Menunos live in Los Angeles. We delivered ice cream to smiling TV anchors – and wrapped up the tour with a New York event hosted by actress Vanessa Lachey, who scooped Dreyer’s Slow Churned as paparazzi captured smiles.

Savoring the flavor

“A Reason to Smile” resulted in reasons to be delighted. We distinguished Dreyer’s Slow Churned as a taste leader even among ice cream buyers skeptical of “light” claims. Key messages hit home – national awareness of “all-the-taste, half-the-fat” rose 17%; “consists of quality ingredients,” 20%; and “willingness to pay more,” 46%.

We scooped up 465 articles and 930M impressions, nearly nine times goal, and two of three articles included ‘great-taste” and ‘half-the-fat’ messaging. As our messages resonated, consumers connected. The brand attracted 325,000 new Facebook fans -- five times more.

The campaign added 125,000 households to the franchise in four weeks. Dollar volume and sales velocity trended upward for the first time in a year. Our dollar share of the premium category jumped 2.8%, and our overall U.S. household penetration rose .2 percentage points. But the sweetest reason to smile was the 23,000+ photo uploads at $5 per smile. That resulted in 500 cleft-palate surgeries, giving kids both a reason to smile and the means.