The only thing Americans love more than eating bacon and buying bacon is talking about bacon.

But when they do, they rarely mention brands. And Oscar Mayer, which introduced sliced, packaged bacon to the U.S. in 1924, wanted to change that.

So in March 2014, Oscar Mayer introduced something it knew bacon enthusiasts couldn’t help talking about: A device that turned iPhones into bacon-scented alarm clocks, letting people literally wake up to the scent and sound of sizzling bacon no matter where they are.

Through nine months of research and development, Oscar Mayer partnered with The Scentee Company in Japan to blend a custom Oscar Mayer bacon scent, prototyped a device to deliver it, and built a user-friendly alarm clock app that worked either in tandem with the device or on its own.

Starting with a USA Today exclusive in which the device was called “the best thing since whatever came before sliced bread,” the news went immediately viral and was featured by Time, Good Morning America, Today and hundreds of additional outlets.

But people didn’t just read this news; they engaged with it. Hundreds of thousands of people signed up for a chance to win one of the devices, and tens of thousands more downloaded the Wake Up & Smell The Bacon app onto their phones. And consumers lit up social media with mentions of Oscar Mayer bacon mentions.

In the end, Oscar Mayer inspired thousands of branded bacon conversations, and it boosted sales 13.7% during the campaign period.

We partnered with Japan’s Scentee Company to blend a custom Oscar Mayer bacon scent, prototyped an iPhone attachment to deliver it, and built a user-friendly alarm clock app.

Premium packaging was created to mimic high-end technology “unboxing” experiences.

We unveiled the devices with a pair of large-scale media exclusives in USA Today and Mashable. They went viral instantly, and the story was picked up by a long list of national outlets, including the leading morning shows Good Morning America and Today.

Several dozen devices were then seeded to key media and influencers in order to sustain the story for weeks through product-review and user-experience coverage.

We launched a sweepstakes hosted on a dedicated microsite, www.wakeupandsmellthebacon.com.

We also created a video of a vivid bacon dream that lived on the microsite and in social channels. It was also featured in digital display advertising and some earned-media placements.

Output/Awareness:

• The campaign drew 616mm impressions, 521 million of which were earned.

• Coverage included 10 national broadcast outlets (including Good Morning America and Today) and 187 major print or online publications, including Time, USA Today and Yahoo!

• There were more than 17,000 branded social-media mentions during the campaign, driving a 2,700% increase in Oscar Mayer-branded conversations online.

Knowledge/Consideration:

• Taste perceptions improved: Going into the campaign, a survey found that an equal 44% of respondents said Oscar Mayer and Hormel bacon “tastes delicious.” Following the campaign, Oscar Mayer rose to 58%, while Hormel fell to 38%.

Action/Business Output:

• Bacon pound sales rose 13.7% during the campaign (vs. an 8.8% campaign goal).

• Household penetration rose 2.28% (vs. a 1% to 2% campaign goal).