Branston, renowned for bringing families together around the dinner table, is teaming up with Netflix’s animated film That Christmas to embrace the magic of Christmas. This partnership, brought to life by Activation, brings the holiday spirit directly to supermarket shelves, enhancing visibility and deepening the brand’s connection with families during one of the most important retail periods of the year.

With That Christmas set to premiere on 4 December, Branston’s in-store activations will ensure shoppers are immersed in festive joy from the moment they step in-store. Based on Richard Curtis’s beloved children’s books, the film weaves together tales of love, family, and holiday mishaps, celebrating the timeless spirit of togetherness that makes Christmas so special.

“Bringing That Christmas into the retail space allows us to connect with families in a festive, meaningful way. By integrating the film’s spirit into our promotions, we’re blending Branston’s warmth with the joy of the holiday season.”

Claire Steward, Account Director, Activation

The key objective of this campaign is to boost visibility and drive purchases during this crucial period for Branston. Launching exclusively at Sainsbury’s, the first activation features striking snow-capped point-of-sale displays and strategically placed floor stickers, guiding shoppers directly to Branston’s shelves. Shoppers can also take part in the “Win a Christmas to Remember” promotion through the Nectar loyalty program, encouraging both trial and acquisition with the incentive of a high-value reward.

This collaboration between Branston and That Christmas unites two brands with a shared focus on bringing families together. By aligning their messaging with the warmth and nostalgia of festive celebrations, both reinforce their roles as key ingredients for family gatherings.

As the season progresses, more activations will follow, including the launch of limited-edition jars, designed to elevate the in-store experience and drive excitement. Find out more about Branston and That Christmas on the Branston website.

The post Branston Teams Up with Netflix’s That Christmas to Spread Festive Cheer appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

McDonald’s Monopoly is one of the most iconic marketing promotions in history. For 35 years and counting, this legendary promotion has had customers nationwide eagerly peeling, collecting, and hoping for their big win. Today, the UK launches the 2024 edition, offering 60 million prizes, from MINI electric cars to all-inclusive holidays. We reveal the five key secrets behind its enduring success, including immediate gratification through instant rewards, customer retention driven by collect-to-win mechanics, and a simple, nostalgic format that has woven McDonald’s Monopoly deep into the fabric of popular culture. So, let’s roll the dice, ‘pass GO,’ and unlock the winning formula behind this fan-favourite promotion!

Why Has McDonald’s Monopoly Become So Iconic?

1. Instant Wins Keep the Momentum

At the heart of this promotion is the thrill of instant gratification. The ability to win a free drink, fries, or dessert immediately keeps customers engaged. Unlike promotions that involve lengthy forms or long wait times, McDonald’s delivers rewards on the spot, perfectly aligning with the fast-food model—It’s fast food meets fast rewards.

 “There is nothing quite like that feeling of winning with the Monopoly Game at Macca’s – the surprise of finding a winning ticket, the anticipation as you wait for your prize to be revealed, and the rush of joy as you finally complete a property set or get an instant win to perk up your day.

Tobi Fukushima, National Marketing Manager for McDonald’s

2. Driving Repeat Visits

Big-ticket prizes such as cars and luxury vacations aren’t won in a single visit. The collect-to-win system requires customers to gather multiple game pieces, encouraging them to return repeatedly. This transforms McDonald’s Monopoly into a sustained event, driving foot traffic and building customer loyalty throughout the six-week campaign.

3. It’s an Event, Not Just a Promotion

For many, the return of McDonald’s Monopoly is more than just a promotion—it’s an annual event. Entire communities engage by trading game pieces, strategising on how to complete sets, and celebrating their wins on social media. Fans eagerly anticipate its return, much like other seasonal phenomena such as Black Friday or an iPhone release.

4. “Peel, Play, Repeat”

The beauty of McDonald’s Monopoly lies in its simplicity. Peeling off a sticker to reveal a prize is engaging, tactile, and addictive. Yet, this straightforward mechanic has been scaled up with billions of game pieces and hundreds of millions of prizes. Even though the chances are small, the dream of winning £100,000 or a new car keeps customers hooked. It taps into the same psychology that drives lotteries, and it works just as well here.

5. FOMO is Real

The limited-time nature of McDonald’s Monopoly leverages the powerful force of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Customers know that they have only a short window to collect game pieces and win prizes, which encourages frequent visits. This sense of urgency drives a peak period for sales, as no one wants to miss their chance to win big.

The Secret Sauce to McDonald’s Monopoly Success

Since its launch in 1987, McDonald’s Monopoly has established itself as one of the most engaging promotions in marketing history. Its enduring popularity stems from a winning formula of instant rewards, collect-to-win mechanics, and a simple, nostalgic format that resonates with cultural relevance and popular culture.

The “Peel, Play, Repeat” mechanic offers immediate gratification, allowing customers to win prizes like free food items instantly, which perfectly aligns with McDonald’s fast service model. The immediate rewards—such as free drinks, fries, or desserts—satisfy consumer desires for quick service and quick wins, maintaining their engagement with the brand.

A collect-to-win system adds a layer of strategy, requiring customers to gather multiple pieces to win larger prizes, transforming the promotion into an ongoing event rather than a one-time interaction. This encourages frequent return visits, reinforcing customer loyalty as participants are motivated to keep coming back for another chance to progress toward a bigger prize.

By employing a limited-time availability, the promotion taps into the powerful force of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), driving repeat visits and boosting sales during its run. With all these elements in play, what do you think is the key to its lasting success? Is it the thrill of instant rewards, the excitement of rare prizes, the FOMO effect, or perhaps the nostalgia of this legendary brand partnership? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

The post Peel, Play, and Win! The Magic of McDonald’s Monopoly Returns appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Activation teams up with Tilda for a flavourful campaign promoting their ready-to-heat flavoured rice pouches. Tilda is a much-loved, multicultural British brand, and Activation jumped at the chance to elevate their latest product range.

The aim? To grab shoppers’ attention along the path to purchase with a creative idea that combines ease and convenience with the exciting possibility of unlocking a world of flavour.

CREATE TA-DAA! WITH TILDA!

The concept is simple: Tilda flavoured rice adds the TA-DAA! to teatime. Looking to create something new and inspiring? Count on Tilda to transform dinner into a plate to be proud of. Easy experimentation meets remarkable results. The idea needed to be light-hearted, snappy, ownable, and inspirational. But most importantly, visually exciting and engaging!

The concept is built on the insight that millennials, the target audience, are adventurous and keen to try new things. However, they fear failure and don’t have time for experiments that might not work. Tilda offers a solution, allowing them to explore new flavours and cuisines, elevating their mealtimes.

Activation Across the Shopper Journey

At the heart of the promotion is the chance for shoppers to win a flavour-filled holiday for two! Choose from flavour adventures in Jamaica, Mexico, Portugal, or Greece, perfectly linking back to Tilda’s product flavours.

They also gave away 80 individual prizes to be won over 80 days, including everything from air fryers to Tilda bundles, all centred around the brand campaign ‘Elevate your plate’. Consumers simply need to purchase a pack of Tilda ready-to-heat flavoured rice to enter.

Activation has worked across the entire shopper journey, utilising various touchpoints both online and offline:

• In-Store: FSDUs, retailer magazine ads, aisle fins, and more.
• Social Media: Paid and organic social creatives alongside TikTok-specific content.
• Out-of-Home (OOH): 14 and 6 sheets at key locations and on the Tube.

The campaign launched on 1st May and runs until 19th July, and can be seen at https://www.tilda-tadaa.com

The post TA-DAA! Activation Spices Up Shopper Journey with Tilda appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Creative agency, Haygarth, has been appointed by British baking brand, Warburtons, as Lead Shopper Marketing Agency across its entire portfolio. The appointment follows a competitive pitch against four other agencies.

Haygarth will be responsible for re-energising Warburtons shopper marketing, building on its strong brand equity to drive prominence, engagement and conversion throughout the path to purchase in retail. The agency’s remit will include all products, channels and retail customers. 

Warburtons Head of Shopper Marketing, Fiona Lydon said: ‘We were looking for an agency that could help us move to the next level and were very impressed with the strategic and creative skills that Haygarth demonstrated throughout the pitch process. We are looking forward to launching some fantastic retail work that really connects with our target shoppers across the country.’

Haygarth CEO, Marcus Sandwith said: ‘We couldn’t be more delighted to be working with Warburtons, one of the leading grocery brands in the UK. They have an enviable record in making great quality bread, rolls, bagels, crumpets and teacakes that delight my family and countless millions of others every day. We are greatly looking forward to producing some outstanding shopper focused work together with the Warburtons team.’

The post Haygarth appointed as Warburtons’ new Shopper Agency appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Multi-award-winning creative brand experience agency, N2O, in partnership with Tesco, has created a pop-up Christmas Market that will visit stores across the UK in the run up to the festive period.

Standing up for joy this Christmas, the festive Tesco Christmas Market comprises free food and drink sampling, gifting inspiration and spreading festive cheer for the whole family. The focus is around spending less; offering helpful ways to celebrate the season’s festivities, with hints and tips for hosting no matter the budget.

The multi-brand roadshow includes Disney, Coca-Cola, Lurpak, Costa Coffee, Schwartz, Maltesers, Kopparberg, Amarula, McVitie’s, San Pellegrino, Tesco Finest and many more.

Clare James, Chief Operating Officer at N2O, said: “Back by popular customer demand, we’re delighted to deliver the Tesco Christmas Markets for a third year. With the current tough economic climate, we’ve focused on offering customers a memorable free experience, with lots of festive food and drink to try, a free gift wrapping service and tips for how customers can still bring some budget-friendly joy into their celebrations this year.”

Customers can locate their nearest Tesco Christmas Market at www.tescochristmas.com

The post Tesco Christmas Pop-Up From N2O appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Cat Among The Pigeons have won a six figure marketing campaign with Natural Balance Foods, a young British company making natural wholefood alternatives to everyday processed foods.  The award-winning Leeds agency will create a promotional and shopper marketing campaign for its range of TREK protein bars.

TREK is the UK’s No.1 plant-based protein bar.  With sales of £20.9 million per annum, it has grown +27% over the last year.  The TREK brand offers a wide range of flapjack bars and power bars, each with up to 15g of plant-based protein and no artificial ingredients to help deliver natural energy and keep you fuller for longer.

TREK is on a mission to inspire consumers to choose more sustainable plant-based protein bars made with all natural ingredients. Historically the domain of hardcore gym enthusiasts, protein bars can help anyone looking for a boost during a busy day.

Cat Among The Pigeons will be responsible for creating an impactful promotional and shopper campaign that adds value to the TREK brand and encourages more new shoppers to see and buy them. The goal is to help the TREK brand differentiate and broaden appeal in the fiercely competitive cereal bar category.

Commenting on the appointment, Alice Boardman, Senior Brand Manager at Natural Balance Foods said “the pitch from Cat Among The Pigeons really stood out and their passion for the TREK brand was clear. Their 360 shopper marketing approach captured the adventurous spirit of the brand and we can’t wait to get started on developing the campaign with them.”

Paul McGann, founder of Cat Among The Pigeons added “we’re naturally thrilled to be working with TREK, which tastes great and is a better choice for consumers and the planet with 100% plant-based ingredients. We’re huge fans already and can’t wait to introduce these tasty plant-based protein bars to an even bigger audience.”

The post Cat Among The Pigeons Are The Natural Choice appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

The Flavourists, a new plant-based meal kit brand, has appointed promotional marketing consultancy Cat Among The Pigeons to help further grow sales.

The Flavourists was launched in April and is backed by major British food manufacturer, Samworth Brothers. Cat Among The Pigeons will be responsible for creating promotional campaigns that encourage trial and grow rate of sale in supermarkets nationally.  The aim is to help them stand out in the fast growing, but fiercely competitive plant-based category.

The Flavourists brand is on a mission to inspire more consumers to embrace creative cooking with plants. It has already secured supermarket listings for two of its meal kit ranges: Sizzle Kits which includes Creamy Makhani Style Curry, and Sizzle & Stir which includes Sticky Teriyaki and Herby Green Pesto.  The meal kits retail from £3.45 – £4.75 and promise superlative flavours for those who like cooking with plants but don’t like to compromise on taste.  

Commenting on the appointment, Mia Hartwell, Co-Creator of The Flavourists said “these are exciting times for us at as we rapidly expand our listings and launch a host of new plant-based products. Cat Among The Pigeons really impressed with their insight, agility and promotional strategy, demonstrating a great track record of growing new grocery brands.  We’re thrilled to be working with them.”

Paul McGann, founder of Cat Among The Pigeons added “plant-based meals are no longer just for vegans and vegetarians.  More and more shoppers are switching from meat to plants as a part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. The chance to help The Flavourists unlock the massive potential with supermarket shoppers is very exciting.”

The post Cat Among The Pigeons With A Tasty Win appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Cat Among The Pigeons work with Pipers Crisps to launch new marketing campaign, exclusive to wholesale and the on-trade, rewarding stockists with the chance to instantly win Red Letter Day Prizes.

The Savour the Moment campaign runs from April through to June, and offers the opportunity to win experience day prizes worth £500 or £100 with every promotional case. The campaign will follow last year’s hugely popular and successful of on-trade promotion, The Great Taste Tour, which helped Pipers become the fastest growing premium snack brand^{[1 ]} and win multiple IPM awards!

Savour The Moment is being comprehensively supported with digital and trade press advertising, social media and tailored wholesaler promotions and point of sale material. Along with creating the campaign and supporting comms, Cat Among The Pigeons also created a new promotional microsite. To enter customers simply visit the microsite or scan the QR code on case to find out instantly if they have won a Red Letter Day experience. Additionally, every entrant can claim 15% off any Red Letter Day experience, regardless of whether they win.

Chiara Boscarato, Brand Manager for Pipers Crisps at PepsiCo, comments: “The last few years have been a challenge for wholesalers and on-trade outlets, so this promotion is solely aimed at giving back to operators. We want to offer our support to stockists through some fantastic prizes that are up for grabs. As confidence returns and more consumers resume visiting outlets, we want to support operators optimize their cash margins by offering the customers a diverse range of flavours from a sought after premium snack brand. 

“Just like last year’s Great Taste Tour campaign, the Savour The Moment campaign also celebrates the great taste and special combinations of ingredients that go into our crisps. Last year’s campaign set a real benchmark for us, so we have also extended the promotion by a month, giving the on-trade even more chances to get their hands on a winning case.”

The post New Pipers Crisps Campaign by Cat Among The Pigeons appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

London, 12^th January 2022: Impero today announces the launch of its Veganuary campaign for Future Farm, the plant-based protein producer. Titled “Choose the Tastier Future”, the creative is picking a fight with all things ‘tasteless’ by showing the UK that the future isn’t all doom and gloom, but is in fact amazing, delicious and tasty.

The creative campaign aims to command national attention at a key calendar moment for the category. It sets out to empower meat reducers, flexitarians, vegans and anyone toying with the idea of giving Veganuary a go and get them to “Choose the Tastier Future”.

Using hilarious characters to callout tasteless issues within our everyday lives, the creative takes aim at, all talk no action climate change politics, animal cruelty, over-processed food, righteous food fads, and boring diet options. All whilst offering a simple solution; take the future into your hands (quite literally) and choose the tastier future – by eating Future Farm’s delicious plant-based range of products. The work will be run across OOH, TFL, social, digital and print ads in national and free-sheet publications.

Pedro Zuim, Marketing Director, Future Farm said: “After the success of our launch campaign in the summer, we wanted to continue this creative approach which demands the attention of our target consumers.

Our intent is to stand out within an undoubtedly busy Veganuary with award-winning creative that brings Future Farm to life, showcasing our full range, and the team at Impero are never short of ideas that cut through the noise and resonate with consumers, which is a necessity during the busiest time of year for the category.

Our goal is to capture the imagination of meat reducers, and anyone just toying with the idea of giving it a go for Veganuary.”

Michael Scantlebury, Impero’s Founder and CEO adds: “Young people in the UK would be forgiven for thinking that the future looks pretty bleak right now.  And they’re, quite rightly, pissed off. All they see is empty words, and little action of our politicians and big business.  This campaign tackles that head on and puts young consumers in the driving seat of the change they want to see by asking why trust the failed status quo, when we can all choose a tastier future.”

The post FUTURE FARM PICKS A FIGHT WITH ALL THINGS TASTELESS THIS JANUARY appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

At the very peak of the Covid pandemic, the DfE needed to find a solution to providing school meals for a growing number of household beneficiaries. The quickest and most flexible solution was to provide eligible families with vouchers that could be downloaded or requested by post and redeemed in nominated retailers.

Speed to market was absolutely key to the success of this much needed benefit support. The DfE turned to Edenred, an existing voucher scheme organisation who through their “Select” platform had a model that could be adapted for the campaign, with its own tool kit and business rules specific to the benefit programme. Within the dedicated portal there was advice and guidelines to ensure the public, schools and retailers could engage with the scheme with minimal fuss.

[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqg0oj1Yzac” width=”500″ height=”300″]

This scheme was delivered in an incredibly short lead time enabling the DfE to mobilise this very high profile programme in record time. The scheme came in for a lot of press and public scrutiny, but the results were quite spectacular, over 128m meals were delivered by the end of summer through £483m government spend and 94% of user satisfaction with the scheme and its processes.

Judges’ quote

“The scale of the activity was amazing, and it must have been a pretty monumental undertaking. To maintain above 90% satisfaction in the process is seriously impressive, particularly for a scheme surrounded by negative publicity.”

Credit: Colin Hodgson, Edenred

The post Covid Featured Case Study-A seriously satisfying solution appeared first on IPM Bitesize.