We generated news for our client using a popular brand asset to hijack a major shopping event, which generated large volumes of media coverage. As well as articles from journalists and influencers across the UK, it also created a social media frenzy.

Every year, UK retailers offer big discounts on Black Friday.

Which leaves stores with everyday low prices like Aldi with nothing to say.

Our challenge was to change that and generate a disproportionate share of the news.

The big question was… how can we make headlines and get consumers talking about Aldi on the one day of the year when their stores are traditionally quiet?

This was essentially a news hijacking campaign.

The idea was to turn Black Friday into Orange Friday and keep Aldi front of mind on the one day of the year when they are usually forgotten. In order to hijack the Black Friday hype and get customers into Aldi stores, we needed a carrot to dangle. Luckily, we had one. Kevin the Carrot, the star of the Aldi Christmas campaign. We knew that the nation had fallen in love with Kevin. So we created a soft toy version and released it on the Thursday before Black Friday.

The strategy was to capitalise on the popularity of the Aldi brand icon, Kevin the Carrot, by releasing limited edition merchandise. To feed the intrigue and hype, the merchandise was delivered in trucks which had ‘Kevin the Carrot’ emblazoned on the livery. This gave us a shareable image which millions of consumers posted on social media.

We strategically seeded limited edition Kevin the Carrot soft toys in Aldi UK stores.

As the excitement grew, we amplified the hype through our owned social media channels.

Kevin fever swept the nation with people queueing around the block.

And the merchandise sold in 30 minutes.