Rising to the Occasion
During the reign of communism, it was normal for millions of Soviet Union citizens to wait in line for hours simply to buy a loaf of bread.
In the last decade, the quality of life for most citizens of Russia has improved considerably — which means Russian marketers have a greater opportunity than ever to capitalize on the growing prosperity of the average consumer.
S.I. Lesaffre recently completed a promotion for its Hirondelle yeast brand that capitalized on the importance of bread in Russian culture. It may have been the first instance in which Russians were actually happy to wait in line for their bread. Although global leaders in the yeast market, S.I. Lesaffre competes with many strong domestic brands.
St. Petersburg-based agency Avenue-Promotion developed an integrated campaign that featured baking contests, product sampling, p.r., telemarketing, and direct mail. The primary goals were to create awareness and incent trial in 15 markets around St. Petersburg. The target was moms aged 26 to 35 and retired women 45 to 70.
Avenue-Promotion sent samplers to high-traffic areas such as subway stations and grocery stores to hand out free packages of yeast. They also delivered brochures offering a hotline consumers could call for recipe ideas and other information.
Female schoolteachers were mailed product information and details about baking contests they could organize at their schools. These contests quickly became the focal point of the campaign.
S.I. Lesaffre representatives met with “household management” teachers to explain the product and the contest format. They then helped teachers from 400 schools develop programs that had students working together to create tasty bread treats. (Naturally, all entries had to be made with Hirondelle yeast.) The winning team earned a trip to Paris for its entire class. Hirondelle-branded cooking class schedules and other in-school collateral spread the word.
About 2,500 students took part in various levels of competition, with all participants receiving a special “diploma” and other prizes. Winners received special invitations to attend VIP parties at the popular St. Petersburg Hollywood Nights dance club at the end of each round.
The final bake-off was held at the State Museum of Bread (the existence of which proves how vital bread is to the country’s history). A special awards ceremony later recognized the winners. The 15-month campaign generated so much publicity that local TV networks and newspapers were on hand to cover the event.
In post-promotion surveys, teachers, students, and mothers of participants all said they found the promotion to be both educational and fun. “Our major goal was to create a positive image for the brand and make people talk about it,” says S.I. Lesaffre spokesperson Tatiana Kozyreva. “Participating teachers and parents were all very impressed by the idea of making school classes more exciting — and of us providing an otherwise almost-impossible opportunity for a Russian child to go to Paris.”
About 71 percent of the teachers who were initially contacted participated in the contests, and 87 percent found them to be worthwhile events. Meanwhile, 49 percent of all participants said they would “definitely” buy Hirondelle yeast in the future.
The promotion garnered marketing awards in Russia and globally last fall through the Association of Promotion Marketing Agencies Worldwide’s second-annual Globes competition.
Now that’s worth waiting in line for.
Globes Trotting Begins
The Association of Promotion Marketing Agencies Worldwide, Stamford, CT, has made it first call for entries to its third-annual Globes Awards program, which recognizes the best promotion marketing campaigns from around the world.
Finalists from promo’s annual pro Awards here in the U.S. automatically qualify for entry into the Globes. Campaigns in other countries qualify either by winning APMA-sanctioned awards programs or being profiled in partnering publications.
The deadline is June 14. For more information, visit apmaw.org.
