Baskin-Robbins Australia has won the award for Best Digital Initiative at last week’s QSR Media Awards for its 2019 Stranger Things campaign.
Baskin-Robbins Australia’s Master Licensee, Palm Oasis Ventures took a risk in launching a digital winter campaign targeting a new millennial and Gen Z demographic when it partnered with Netflix to launch season 3 of the streaming giant’s most popular show, the sci-fi horror series, Stranger Things.
The winter 2019 campaign involved a limited-edition Stranger Things menu, sold physically instore at Baskin-Robbins locations and via a world-first ‘Scoops Ahoy’ virtual restaurant (a homage to the name of the ice cream parlour in the series), with ice cream delivered by Uber Eats.
BR Australia created a digital experience inspired by key plot points from the show, including the theme of code-breaking. A microsite was developed to allow fans to hunt for hidden codes online and on limited edition products for the chance to win a trip to the Stranger Things set in Atlanta, Georgia, US.
BR Australia national marketing manager Julian Casa said the digital campaign was successful in reaching an audience outside of its core demographic of families and children.
“Our usual core segment was not a natural fit for this campaign, with sci-fi horror series more of interest to teens and young adults. As such, we applied an edgier, more youth-orientated approach across our product range, creative and channel selection in order to appeal to Stranger Things’ fans,” Casa said.
The campaign achieved 5.2 million digital impressions, 55,000 social media engagements and 151,000 complete YouTube views. A supporting Instagram campaign also helped increase Baskin-Robbins’ market share from 29 per cent to 45 per cent among 13 – 24-year-olds.
Drawing a link between watching Netflix and having Baskin-Robbins delivered supported the campaign’s success and drove a significant increase in home delivery sales over the three month campaign period.
BR Australia general manager Ben Flintoff congratulated his marketing team and creative agency partners Type and Pixel and Foxed Glove for their support in producing and implementing an engaging campaign.
“When BR Australia partnered with Netflix and Stranger Things, we thought we had all the ingredients for a successful campaign, and it turned out we were right,” Flintoff said.
“The campaign was one of the most innovative and ambitious concepts BR Australia has activated; from the immersive digital experience, augmented reality content, to the virtual restaurant, all of course complemented by a limited edition range of premium desserts.
“We’re proud of our campaign’s success and we feel it really shows how BR Australia can use digital technology to grow market share, while delivering innovative, category-leading, immersive experiences for guests of all ages.”
