Edmonds and Chelsea Sugar are two of New Zealand’s long-standing Flour and Sugar brands. They are more than just ingredients; they have been treasured pantry staples in homes for over 150 years.

Despite this legacy modern lifestyles have changed, scratch baking is in decline.

Covid-19 lockdown drove Kiwis back into the kitchen, yet this was short lived, and consumers soon reverted to convenience. Add to this the consumer perception that “flour is flour” and “sugar is sugar,” it’s an uphill battle for sales over cheaper products.

With price commandeering purchase, what had once been an emotional category full of love, is now fiercely rational.

We couldn’t compete on price, but we could reignite desires to bake by unlocking fond memories. Our objectives were:

1. Find our way back into the basket - deliver uplift in sales by +3%.

2. Make a difference in the community – raise $10,000 for charity.

INSIGHT & OPPORTUNITY:

Baking is so much more than about what you make and how. It’s about who you bake for, why, and how it leaves others feeling.

What better way to highlight the feel good nature of baking, than by baking for people that need help. We wanted Kiwis not only to get into the kitchen for the ones they love, but to purchase Edmonds and Chelsea ingredients to help those in need.

We launched a movement across the country that celebrated the life skills, values, and togetherness of baking, all in a bid to raise money for one of NZ’s biggest charities – The Salvation Army.

Powered by Edmonds and Chelsea, the initiative “Baking for Better” was born. By integrating two iconic brands as a united force, we were able to elevate human stories behind the act of baking; all whilst simultaneously giving back to vulnerable communities.

Being so iconic, Chelsea and Edmonds have existing high levels of top-of-mind awareness.

However, awareness doesn’t automatically translate into sales or long-term brand love.

Our strategy for increasing sales and brand engagement was to win over hearts and minds. By getting Kiwis to feel something, we could demonstrate why Edmonds & Chelsea were worth paying more for.

1) Hearts: Capture the hearts of NZ through our partnership with the Salvation Army and helping those in need; transferring positive brand sentiment to Edmonds and Chelsea as the core enablers of giving back.

2) Minds: Establish an association between Edmonds & Chelsea and “Baking for Better”, to build love, trust and engagement longer term.

Our strategy would only manifest in the most effective way through tightly integrating the brands, the talent and a full eco-system of channels across TV, Video, Social, the website and at the supermarket shelf.

Seven Sharp is NZ’s #1 Current affairs show, fronted by much-loved host Hilary Barry.

Hilary had retained an untouchable status as a former journalist, and was fondly known as an “un-influencer” who didn’t normally partner with brands.

Seven Sharp declined the idea of an in-show cooking segment, which wouldn’t fit with restraints of current affairs programming. However, nothing was stopping us using the commercial airtime in a highly integrated way.

We created our own segment within the show, achieved by manipulating the commercial break to give the feeling of a native television ad.

We secured permission to move other advertisers so that our “show” tightly bookended the programme. We then switched to a live cross before the segment ran, integrating so seamlessly, that audiences believed the programme had started up again.

The integration ran for 8 weeks, with a different secret recipe which could be downloaded with a donation.

We achieved the highest sales uplift ever seen, delivered the second largest donation to the Salvation Army seen all year!

IMPACT:

Raised $80k NZD for the Salvation Army (vs target of $10k NZD).

Edmonds ranked as #1 and Chelsea ranked as #2 most powerful brands within the category in the latest brand tracking dip.

REACH:

Seven Sharp segment reached 1.2m Kiwis (vs 1m planned)

1.4m Kiwis reached on Edmonds and Chelsea social channels (vs 1.3m planned)

1.2m Kiwis reached with digital video

ENGAGEMENT:

114k Kiwis took part in the initiative via donating on the “Baking for Better” website.

21k interactions on Edmonds and Chelsea social channels (likes/comments/shares).

Social fan following grew by 2k followers post launch.