• Walkers needed to get consumers excited about its new products again
• It asked consumers to create and vote for their own perfect crisp flavour
• Sales rise 14% as the UK goes crazy for Builders’ Breakfast

The challenge

Like many FMCG brands, Walkers Crisps has promoted sales with news of new flavours. Classics TV ads featuring front man Gary Lineker have promoted variants on the salt and vinegar theme for years.

However the strategy was becoming less effective, partly as a result of improvements in own label and new premium brand competitors.

Based around the insight that “everyone’s got an opinion about what makes a good packet of crisps”, Walkers decided to give the British public a chance to turn their opinions into reality.

The strategy ran in three phases: first encouraging consumers to suggest new flavours, second promoting the six selected flavours and finally the promotion of the winning flavour.

Participation was incentivised by the offer of a £50,000 prize plus a stake in the business worth 1% of all future sales of the winning flavour.

The TV solution

The message was launched with an extensive TV campaign in August 2008. Appearing in joint viewing moments such as Coronation St, Big Brother, X-Factor and the FA Cup, the aim was to encourage debate about what made a great crisp flavour.

Backed by a multimedia campaign that also included radio DJ promotions and a Flavour Army as well as online activity where Walkers encouraged consumers to go online, write a letter or send an MMS and suggest their dream packet of crisps.

After more than a million entries – four times the initial estimate – had been received, an expert panel featuring chef Heston Blumenthal selected the six final contenders.

In January 2009, these new packs including Cajun Squirrel and Crispy Duck and Hoisin, went on sale to the British public as the second phase of the campaign – the flavour election kicked off.

Walkers ran 60-second TV ads to introduce each of the candidates backed up by 20-second messages from each contender. Online and mobile advertising for each flavour encouraged people to vote for their favourite.

Finalists collected “grass roots” support via campaign pages on Facebook while Yahoo TV provided news from the “campaign trail” via an ad-funded show – Do Us A Flavour News.

Finally the winner was declared and Builders’ Breakfast was unveiled on Do Us A Flavour News before massive PR gave national coverage.

Results

Walkers received 1.2m flavour ideas and more than a million votes. Do Us A Flavour News was watched more than a quarter of a million times.

The PR campaign delivered £6.5m in value.

Brand equity measures are up 6% and sales are up a massive 14%, as the nation falls in love with Walkers again.