Challenge
Frito Lay Canada challenged Fleishman-Hillard with building national awareness and participation in its new consumer contest, Become the Doritos Guru. The contest asked Canadians to name the flavour of a new mystery chip and create a 30-second commercial to promote it, all in exchange for a chance to win $25,000 and 1 per cent of Canadian flavour sales.
Solution
FH developed a PR program that aimed to generate media and consumer attention during all phases of the program. From seeding to reveal, the Doritos contest remained of high interest and awareness to media and consumers due to the level of PR activity.
In the weeks leading up to the official contest launch, FH conducted proactive communications with key media and blog audiences through the delivery of an empty bag media teaser. The mystery white bags were personalized to create buzz and anticipation of the program. An outreach program to film and art schools across the country was also conducted to encourage submission into the program.
Once in full swing, the PR program included aggressive outreach across the country to media and bloggers, weekly campaign updates to media which included key statistics and links to consumer entries, local market media relations support for the semi-finalists and a two-city media tour with the contest winner.
Throughout the program, FH worked closely with multiple agency partners to generate positive media coverage, while tying back to the core business goals of increasing sales.
Results
The PR campaign generated over 150 online and traditional media hits, over 140 million impressions, and an increase in brand sales of 25 per cent. Media coverage was seen in national daily newspapers, top tier broadcast stations, consumer magazines, key websites, blogs and community newspapers.
