Tinned peas were in trouble. “Meat and two veg” dinners were dying out and Batchelor’s brand was suffering badly, with 12% of its pea sales disappearing every year. To stem this decline, we would have to dramatically reinvigorate the whole category, and somehow make peas appealing to a new generation of Irish mothers. We signed up three young, attractive, real Irish pea farmers to compete on what became a national phenomenon – voting for Ireland’s sexiest pea farmer. The campaign doubled awareness of Batchelor’s peas among Irish women, increased purchase intent by 60% and almost halved the product’s decline.

We signed up three young, attractive, real Irish pea farmers to compete in what was sure to become a national phenomenon – voting for Ireland’s sexiest pea farmer. Borrowing from media strategies for government elections, we made the farmers famous on billboards around the country. We created a mock editorial featuring the farmers in a popular women’s magazine and on a leading TV show.

All paid and unpaid media, along with Batchelor’s own website, drove people to Facebook where a specially designed App was waiting to capture their votes. In addition, special online content – such as humorous videos profiling each farmer – encouraged visitors to become part of Batchelor’s social community. Returning viewers received new information each week. At the culmination of the campaign, we invited the social community to an exclusive event at a top Dublin nightclub, where the winning farmer was finally announced.

Our target was hugely engaged; there were 60,000 views of the video content, almost 7,000 votes cast, and Facebook fans of the brand went up 12% compared to pre-campaign levels.

The campaign doubled awareness of Batchelor’s peas among Irish women and increased purchase intent by 60%. Best of all, the campaign almost halved the product’s decline, from -12% to -7%. There’s even been a spike in sales of some of their other tinned products as a halo effect of the campaign.

Even with a small budget, a strategically sound, creatively executed idea can build deep engagement.