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Brief
White bread makes up the largest share of the bread market, and is a traditional strength of Warburtons, and a weakness for Hovis. In fact, half of UK bread buyers have never even given Hovis Soft White a try.
The truth is, Hovis Soft White outperforms Warburtons in blind taste tests up and down the country. But we’ve tried telling people this… and seen little impact.
Our challenge was to jolt people into reappraising Hovis Soft White at an emotional level, rather than a rational one.
Strategy
At its best, Hovis tell stories of goodness that give people deep, human reasons to buy our products. So, what was the story at the heart of our white bread that would help us stand tall in the minds of all the millions of people who had never considered us?
One story we hit upon was Hovis’ recent move to 100% British wheat. The change took Hovis five years’ intensive work with over 600 British farmers, and sees over 18 million pounds which were previously spent importing wheat from Canada now pumped into British farming. In their own words, "Until recently, to get the best quality wheat, we had to source from overseas which didn't seem right to us."
A rational truth, with an emotional heart. For our consumers, buying British wheat from British farmers conjures up all sorts of emotions, whether it’s a feeling of national pride (particularly relevant in the run-up to the royal wedding!); a sense of freshness and quality associated with the bread; or a broader sense of connection to the countryside.
Execution
Across media, we celebrate Hovis’ investment in the present and future of British farming. In TV, we dramatise the fact that Hovis only works with Britain's best wheat farmers by showing them competing with one another to win the Hovis Farmer's Race. In outdoor, we ran regional executions celebrating our use of local wheat from local farmers. In social media, we told the deeper story about the benefits of eating British wheat and supporting British farmers, and encouraged fans to spread the word themselves. A partnership with The Sun amplified these messages, and all of it is tying in brilliantly with the Royal Wedding – we’ve even got families making bunting out of our Hovis Soft White packs!
Results
Too early to tell at present.
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