The Bistro Crisps product launch took a two-prong approach, balancing a widespread national consumer and industry earned media strategy with a targeted, regional influencer approach to generate awareness among multiple audiences, including grocery store buyers and decision makers, professionals in the health food industry, health-conscious consumers, influencers and media.
Mueller increased awareness of and interest in Bistro Crisps by leveraging key insights and trends related to better-for-you snacking, clean eating and clean labels and transparency in food production. Messaging focused on the “trifecta of claims,” including the grain-free, paleo and vegan attributes of Bistro Crisps, with communications targeting key audiences.
The earned media approach included distributing a product launch press release via PRNewswire for mass awareness and national reach, and targeting 450+ trade and consumer media contacts with the announcement and customized media pitches. Mueller also deployed a product sampling program for industry and consumer lifestyle reporters to taste the product before writing about it.
Leveraging a substantial audience of health-conscious consumers, dietitians and foodie content creators, Mueller developed a regional influencer program, with outreach to nutrition, healthy living, celiac, paleo and vegan influencers in the Southeast and east coast – the primary regions where Bistro Crisps were available.
Key components of the influencer campaign included:
- Establishing criteria for influencers, including engagement rate and authentic follower count
Identifying influencers who lived in or had a majority of their audience in target markets where product was available in store, ensuring they could purchase the product; - Developing a collaboration brief outlining the content direction, key product attributes and messaging, required tags and hashtags, and visual inspiration for content creators;
- Implementing two influencer campaigns to collect high-resolution, user-generated images from influencers on two content themes – family friendly snacking (keto, gluten free, vegan), and healthy holiday snacking. Influencer images were provided to Crunchmaster with rights granted for use in future marketing materials.
