Uncle Ben’s is the top-selling branded rice in the US with softening sales and household penetration: consumers don’t deviate from the perimeter of the grocery store, where meats, dairy and vegetables are, and research showed that traditional rice shoppers are getting older and consuming fewer side-dishes, and young adults are cooking less and eating out more often.

In 2012, the Begin With Ben™ campaign was developed to show how starting with rice can lead to better meals, more diverse cuisine and more family time. Uncle Ben’s wanted to inspire families to make healthier choices, because habits we learn as children inform decisions we make throughout life.

The Ben’s Beginners™ program’s mission is to get kids cooking. Launched as a Facebook-driven nationwide competition, parents were challenged to cook a kid-friendly recipe with their child and share their experience via video on our Facebook page. The winner received $20,000, was featured on The Rachael Ray Show and received a $50,000 school cafeteria makeover.

Regarding research to support our objectives, various studies showed that 9-14 year olds who ate dinner with their families ate more fruits and vegetables and less soda and fried foods. Family meal frequency during adolescence predicted higher intakes of fruit, vegetables, dark-green and orange vegetables and lower intakes of soft drinks during young adulthood. One study found that children who have regular meals with their parents do better in every way: 42% less likely to drink, 50% less likely to smoke and 66% less likely to smoke marijuana.

We utilized contestants’ personalities and stories to drive engagement and media attention. We provided them with PR “toolkits” to garner support from local media and community members (including press release templates, ideas for contacting local morning show producers, etc.) to use with local media and community members.

We provided finalists with video cameras to capture their NYC moments while there for The Rachael Ray Show and packaged footage to share on the Uncle Ben’s® Facebook page.

We executed an event at the winner’s school to coincide with the winner announcement on The Rachael Ray Show. We worked with media under embargo and invited them to attend the announcement that was made via a feed to The Rachael Ray Show. We worked with photographers and videographers to capture reactions once they found out they had won the $50,000 school cafeteria makeover and packaged this video footage to include in media outreach.

The contest had incredible reach with 813m earned media impressions and our purchase intent increased by 22%. But most importantly, we had great consumer engagement. We received over 700 video submissions, over 59,000 votes, and increased our Facebook followers by 80%. The results far exceed our expectations, showing that we had made a real impact with families.