Bringing home the bacon

Making Breakfast Fun Again

Danepak had been dormant in advertising for many years. It was no longer front of mind for consumers and was not a brand that was considered other than at the shelf. We identified a business case to highlight the opportunities available in taking Danepak back on TV. By changing where and how the brand related to (and rekindled its relationship with) consumers, we moved the conversation away from the distraction of price at the shelves. Our approach was not to sell 'bacon' itself, which would have merely drawn attention to the category.

Instead, we embarked on a fully integrated campaign that would draw from our expertise across advertising, brand strategy, digital and media to develop a brand campaign that heroes bacon, but as a way into the brand.

The route to success lay in a simple truth: in our increasingly hectic world where moments to enjoy life’s pleasures have become aspirational, Danepak creates moments worth savouring. The (perceived) superior quality of the bacon combined with the sensory pleasure of devouring provides an experience worthy of taking your time to enjoy.

‘Morning’ was selected as the first ‘moment worth savouring’. In functional terms ‘mornings’ already have immediate relevance and affinity with core Danepak products (breakfasts being the key usage occasion for bacon) and we developed a strong creative idea that set out to strengthen emotional association between the brand and that time of day.

The idea was fun, unexpected and entertaining, designed to raise a smile and make people warm to the brand. In the TV advertising, we enacted a 'slice of life' in the village of Morning, where breakfast isn’t just the most important meal of the day, it’s the meaning of life itself. When the bacon supplies run low, only the Danepak deliveryman can save the pyjama-clad residents from a breakfast apocalypse.

An entertaining and interactive website supported the campaign and gave bacon lovers plenty more to 'sink their teeth into' allowing them to explore the village of Morning, win prizes and discover more about the Danepak brand.

Changing Places

The change in message and focus on making the brand fun meant that we could move the consumer conversation away from the shop shelves. This helped prompt awareness of the Danepak brand when receptivity was high - instead of fighting over price at the shelf.

We ran the creative across media that supports awareness: TV, radio, and online; and we supported this with in-store promotions and a change to Danepak packaging that would connect the warm feelings from the ads to the product on the shelves.

The Result?

These changes in how and where the brand spoke to consumers successfully raised both awareness and cut through, and the idea was well received by viewers. The changes achieved 47% in spontaneous brand awareness and 85% prompted awareness, vastly outperforming expectations.

Here's what Rob Stroud, Danepak Brand Controller had to say:

"The strategy put in place by Bray Leino has delivered well beyond expectations; not only has it had a significant effect upon consumer sales, it has resulted in an improved trading environment for Danepak which is essential for the brand to deliver the longer term growth targets”"