Bisto is a British gravy brand that believes in power of food to bring people together.

As a long-standing family favourite, it has been at the heart of family meals for over 100 years. But as a traditional brand, it was beginning to lose its role in the busy world of the modern family.

In 2014, we created the Bisto Together Project (BTP) – an initiative to help real groups of real people to overcome barriers and bring them together around the dinner table.

In 2015 our objective had evolved to build on this vision of facilitating togetherness, but on a much larger scale.

How could we use the Bisto Together Project to reinstate Bisto’s value at the table of the modern family?

We needed families with a space at their table to offer to host a Spare Chair Sunday. So we targeted them with TV, radio and social spots at relevant times - such as dinner time when people were naturally sitting with their own family eating their dinner.

Each communication drove people online to the Bisto Together Project website, where they’d enter their details. They were then matched up with a lonely older person in their local area, and the Spare Chair Sunday was arranged.