For a decade, interest in cereal has waned among consumers and media who perceive it as a boring and nostalgic staple of the past. Determined to stir up the category landscape, Kellogg’s boldly entered a fresh category to compel consumers and media to reimagine the countless possibilities of cereal.

Kellogg’s teamed with culinary and restaurant experts, including award-winning chef Christina Tosi, to create a unique experience with cereal and endless add-ons – think Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes with thyme, pistachios and lemon zest – that excited consumers and challenged them to rethink a bowl of cereal.

We secured three exclusives across national print and national broadcast, including Wall Street Journal, CBS Sunday Morning and New York Daily News to break the news of the café prior to the public launch. Once news broke, we conducted a preview week for select media to experience the café and, most importantly, the food, to help them share our story. In addition to the re-imagination of the breakfast staple, Kellogg’s NYC highlights the cereal-eating experience by serving bowls in a manner reminiscent of pulling cereal from home cabinets.

The launch was further amplified across social channels, including Kellogg’s, Kellogg’s NYC and talent pages. Facebook Live also became a powerful medium, with 15+ outlets conducting interviews onsite and giving viewers an inside look at the café and its cuisine.

Following the preview and official launch, Kellogg’s NYC garnered coverage from top media—crediting Kellogg’s for pushing innovation in a declining category.

Objective One: Change the conversation and perception of Kellogg’s cereal in the minds of consumers and media.

•Top media outlets applauded Kellogg’s efforts with conversation-changing headlines such as:

-->Kellogg’s Is Opening a Cereal Café in Times Square — and It’s Just as Magical as It Sounds (People)

-->Times Square Wakes Up to a Restaurant From Kellogg’s (The New York Times)

-->Is Cereal the New "It" Food? (InStyle)

•“Kellogg’s cereal café” topped Google Trends at a 100 from July 10 – July 16, 2016 (Google rankings of 100 peak popularity for a term).

•In July and August, 11% of Kellogg’s more than 5,000 social mentions focused on the café, including such terms as “hip new cereal bar” and “toucans,” which related to Froot Loops’ Toucan Sam mascot.

•“Cereal” saw a 6% year-over-year growth in positive social sentiment in July-August 2016.

•Kellogg’s was invited to ring the morning bell at the New York Stock Exchange on July 8, 2016 to celebrate their reinvention of the category via food experience.

•The café’s July launch secured more than 1.1 billion impressions in three days, quickly surpassing the six-month goal of 900 MM impressions.

Objective Two: Rebuild financial confidence.

•In July 2016, Kellogg’s sales share grew by 0.2 points, representing roughly $100 million for every 10th of a share point in the highly competitive category.

•Kellogg’s beat forecasted sales by 2.3% in July after Kellogg’s NYC opening.

•Kellogg’s stock was at an all-time high during the café’s launch period.