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HEINZ Emotional Support Ketchup Bottles (ESKBs)

Entered in Multi-Platform Partnership

Objective

HEINZ fans are known for their irrational love of HEINZ Ketchup and for the irrational lengths they’ll go to to get it. When conversations on Emotional Support Water Bottles began trending on social, the idea to give HEINZ fans the opportunity to carry their beloved ketchup anywhere, anytime, was born. Enter the Emotional Support Ketchup Bottle (ESKB)!

To generate awareness and spark interest in the limited-edition offer, we enlisted creators to show how their HEINZ ESKBs provided them them all-day support (and ketchup) for food emergencies. Further, we timed the launch to Valentine’s and Galentine’s Day and playfully combatted the woes of modern dating. Creators tapped into popular lifestyle trends to demonstrate instant ketchup satisfaction for when they needed it most, while driving audiences to a point of purchase.

Strategy

Just in time for the season of love, HEINZ debuted the ultimate act of irrational love: the first-ever Emotional Support Ketchup Bottle, making the iconic HEINZ bottle portable for the first time. 

Tapping into the viral “Emotional Support Water Bottle” trend, the HEINZ Emotional Support Ketchup Bottle served as the perfect companion for ketchup lovers, available for sale in limited quantities on Amazon leading up to Valentine’s Day.

To spread the word about the limited-edition offer, we partnered with 14 macro- to micro-tier creators to demonstrate how the HEINZ Emotional Support Ketchup Bottle (ESKB) gave them the perfect amount of emotional support (and ketchup) for Galentine's Day and Valentine’s Day. Creator relationship statuses ran the gamut for maximum appeal and authenticity. 

The resulting content was lighthearted and followed popular content styles like daily vlogs or “A Day in the Life,” depicting how the ESKB came in handy for food emergencies and for playfully combatting the woes of modern dating. All content drove their followers to purchase, while supplies lasted.

HEINZ ESKB took a social trend and made it unique and ownable, tapping into the brand’s commitment to going irrational lengths to support their fans’ irrational love. This campaign required navigating change and staying nimble as the team decided to shift the original launch date and pause content due to world events. In identifying an alternative launch date, we considered several different moments, focusing on landing a positive tone and avoiding coming across like the activation’s tone was serious or made light of mental health challenges. Ultimately, launching in time for Galentine’s Day and Valentine’s Day - a decision grounded in strategy and an exercise in patience - provided the perfect storytelling angle and generated strong results.

Results

Our creators effectively generated broad awareness and buzz for the HEINZ ESKBs among their followers - so much so, the product sold out on Amazon less than one week post-launch. While the resulting potential impressions were lower than our goal due to the final audience reach of our partner roster, we were able to surpass our video view and VVR goals thanks to content that resonated with our creators’ audiences.

Media

Video for HEINZ Emotional Support Ketchup Bottles (ESKBs)

Entrant Company / Organization Name

HEINZ

Links

Entry Credits