"Draw KETCHUP." Here's how a campaign proved that when it comes to the "red stuff," one brand rules!
Guerrilla Marketing! This type of marketing looks beyond the traditional ways of advertising a product or service. Campaigns of this type work wonders for many brands because they’re simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive. Here’s an example of a creative and engaging guerrilla marketing tactic. Keep reading to know how one ketchup brand highlighted the global iconism of its packaging and compelled its target audience to interact with its campaign.
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"Draw KETCHUP." Here's how a campaign proved that when it comes to the "red stuff," one brand rules! There are thousands of ketchup brands in the world. These include:
… and more. If you’re thinking about which among these brands reigns supreme, you’re in for some in-depth research. After all, these companies target different demographics, so what might be the top pick for a certain population might not be the same for another population. But, did you know that in January 2021, one ketchup brand reinforced its global iconism through a fun and interactive guerrilla marketing campaign? That brand is none other than… Heinz!
Heinz is a brand of tomato ketchup manufactured by the H.J. Heinz Company, a division of the Kraft Heinz Company. The brand holds 80% of the market share in Europe and 60% in the US. The ketchup brand is often served in many restaurants across the US and Canada. As a condiment for different kinds of food like fries, chips, burgers, and hotdogs, Heinz uses the slogan: “America’s Favorite Ketchup” As of today, over 650 million bottles of Heinz tomato ketchup are sold every year across the globe. A Little Experiment to Prove a HUGE Point In January 2021, Heinz conducted an experiment that banked on the iconism of its popular condiment. With the help of Canadian advertising agency Rethink, the brand came up with a campaign that invited consumers across 5 continents to “draw ketchup.”
The strategy came as Heinz saw its brand affinity scores decline due to some competitors stealing away its market share. The campaign’s objective was to reignite an emotional connection with consumers in a culturally relevant way to bolster loyalty. Those who participated in the campaign only knew they were joining an anonymous social experiment for a commercial. They had no idea what brand it was for. The instruction participants received was simple: They should just draw the first thing that came to their minds when they heard the word, “ketchup.” The result of the experiment was incredible! While the quality of the drawings ranged, they all had something in common: When participants drew ketchup, they drew Heinz.
According to Mike Dubrick, Rethink’s Managing Partner: “Whether it was the glass bottle, the logo with a tomato, or simply just Heinz scrawled across the bottle, it was pretty amazing to see.” Dubrick also said the campaign helped them prove a HUGE point—that when it comes to the “red stuff,” one brand rules. After the one-day social experiment, Heinz took some of the sketches and featured them in an online video and on billboards across Canada.
… and the campaign didn’t stop there! To make the most out of the “Draw Ketchup” guerrilla marketing stunt, Heinz invited more consumers to join in on the fun and share their own drawings at DrawKetchup.ca until January 31, 2021. Some of those who submitted their drawings on the site got the chance to see their masterpieces attached on one of 250 custom Heinz bottles.
Amazing, wasn’t it? Thanks to the campaign, Heinz reinforced its unspoken association with its target market and demonstrated its supremacy as “America’s favorite ketchup!” Was Heinz’s “Draw Ketchup” campaign effective? The guerrilla marketing campaign highlighted the global iconism of Heinz’s ketchup and packaging. As Daniel Gotlib, the Associate Director of Brand Building and Innovation at Kraft Heinz Canada, said: “Consumers love the unmistakable taste of Heinz, and people around the world give credit to Heinz ketchup as the original and only option out there. We wanted to uncover that instinctual and intuitive association consumers have between ketchup and Heinz.” So, when the campaign team asked consumers to simply draw ketchup, they learned that many of them associate the condiment with Heinz. This assured them of the brand’s status and position in the market. Here are the results of the “Draw Ketchup” campaign:
Clearly, these figures and awards show that Heinz’s guerrilla marketing strategy appealed to its target audience and achieved its objective of reigniting its emotional connection with consumers. A round of applause for Heinz and Rethink’s successful campaign! — As its slogan states, Heinz is the ideal of ketchup for a large portion of the world. This is the brand’s most powerful asset, and through the “Draw Ketchup” campaign, the company leveraged this asset to interact with its target market. This was a great marketing strategy for a ubiquitous food staple. According to Robert Williams, an editor at MarketingDive.com, asking people to draw ketchup as an experiment was a simple and amusing stunt. … and for Heinz, this was an opportunity to tout the power of its iconography worldwide. We hope you find Heinz’s guerrilla marketing campaign interesting and insightful! Rather than your aim simply reaching a wider audience, use your marketing strategies to ingrain your products or services into your target market’s culture and leave a lasting impression on them. Enjoy strategizing your own brand-strengthening guerrilla marketing campaign! Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing! Do you want to learn how one ibuprofen brand captured the attention of thousands of commuters and busy workers in the UK in 2008? See it in next week’s article! |
