We were tasked with generating buzz and Talkability® around Hovis’ brand Renaissance, aiming to get Hovis back into consumers’ hearts and minds.Specifically, we were asked to drive visibility and "fame" of the stunning new TV commercial ‘Go On Lad’, which we treated as an epic movie release, rather than just an ad.We underpinned this with activity that utilised Hovis’ heritage & taste credentials, linking with Harrods’ Food Hall, British Food Fortnight and two leading British chefs.We generated 275 pieces of coverage, worth £4.4 million, including 10 features in national press and magazines and a 5 minute national TV feature.

We looked at every angle media we could use; from the director following in Ridley Scott’s steps, to the little boy being cast off the street, to how the modern-day streets of Liverpool were taken back 122 years. We carefully controlled how these were placed in order to ensure high quality coverage across a range of media.We created buzz and drove tune-in to the ad by managing rumours before the ad aired. We seeded a trailer in the run-up to the 12th September ad launch; placed the ad on YouTube as soon as it aired and followed that with a ‘making of’.Media coverage officially kicked off w/c 8 September, starting with a DPS with the ad’s director in Media Independent and ‘movie trailer’ on Media Guardian. We achieved 6 further national features that week, plus radio and TV.Coverage continued with activity communicating Hovis’ taste and health credentials. Harrods exclusively sold the Little Brown Loaf and 122 limited edition Bake Your Own Hovis Little Brown Loaf kits.We teamed up with chefs Mark Hix and Andrew Turner to create sandwiches for British Food Fortnight; generating broadcast, online and national and regional media coverage.

The whole campaign generated 275 pieces of coverage, worth £4.4 million.On average, everyone in the UK would have seen a piece of Hovis Renaissance coverage on average at least 8 times. The ad and the trailers we produced were viewed on YouTube 150,000 times.There were 7 national features on the ad in the week of launch alone: The Independent, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Star, Daily Record, Scottish Daily Mail and Metro. Plus, our news story aimed at creating debate around the historical moments in the ad made 17 radio stations and ITV’s Loose Women – a key programme for Hovis’ target audience.The taste-focused activity generated further national & regional press, women’s and food magazine, radio and online coverage, extending the coverage from September to Christmas.The Hovis brand has now returned to growth, with 5 months' of consecutive share increase.