Campbell's Soup created and sold an NFT based on a packaging redesign to connect with millennials.
Objective:
Campbell's iconic red and white label has been synonymous with the art world since Andy Warhol featured the brand's soup cans in his 1960s pop art. While the label is a world-renowned icon, minor updates to the logo and design wouldn't exactly have been headline news.
To make some noise around Campbell's first label redesign in 50 years and highlight how Campbell's continues to modernize to reach new audiences, the brand's team inserted the brand into the modern art conversation by commissioning the most modern art of our decade — an NFT. While Campbell's had been leveraged by others on crypto platforms, this was the first minted and Campbell's-owned design.
To unveil the NFT, Campbell's partnered with the leading mobile-first shopping platform and "drop" culture facilitator, NTWRK, to develop and sell the platform's first-ever branded NFT.
Respected within the art community for championing up and coming artists, NTWRK identified Sophia Chang — one of the most popular creators on NTWRK's channel who also had an authentic connection to Campbell's — to develop Campbell's first-ever commissioned virtual collectible. The best part? Sales of the NFT went directly to Feeding America, making the "drop" and auction of the minted collectibles that much more valuable and connected to Campbell's ethos of comfort and care.
The primary objective was to demonstrate how Campbell's continues to modernize as a brand and drive relevance among new generations, while also maintaining and celebrating one of the most iconic brands in American culture. This goal was measured through media impressions and placements, social media buzz (mentions and impressions), charitable donations (dollar amount donated and meals provided), and NFT sales.
Target Audience:
The target audience for this campaign was younger millennials (ages 25 to 40), who were in tune with emerging technology and who stayed up to date on pop culture news and trends. Campbell's had to meet this younger audience, who were increasingly cooking at home because of the pandemic, where they were through its campaign. Campbell's also wanted to reach consumers who were passionate about art and collectibles in order to drive NFT interest and sales.
Creative Strategy:
To build media interest and hype around the Campbell's label redesign and NFT drop, the brand pitched reporters across the business, technology, pop culture, and art verticals under embargo so coverage would be live when the NFT was minted on the NTWRK platform. Campbell's aimed to tee up coverage and drive interest ahead of the NFT drop to drive buzz and engagement.
Campbell's shared a robust digital toolkit of assets, including the new can design that was the inspiration for the NFT and the NFT images themselves, and partnered with NTWRK to tease the NFTs ahead of launch to its very targeted network of limited-edition collectors. After launch, users tuned in to watch Sophia Chang share her love for Campbell's and the inspiration behind the custom NFT as well as the creative process on the NTWRK app.
NTWRK also promoted the NFT through email, push notifications, TikTok, and Twitter, plus in-app tiles. Both Campbell's and NTWRK promoted the NFT and donations to Feeding America on social media to reach their audiences directly where they were, online.
Context:
This was the first year of Campbell's NFT, born from the redesign of the iconic Campbell's soup can. NFTs were a technology that Campbell's had never explored before and partnering with NTWRK and releasing NFTs brought the 150-plus-year-old brand into a new space and onto a new platform.
The campaign demonstrated how Campbell's continues to modernize to appeal to new generations and drive media coverage beyond traditional food outlets by securing placements in lifestyle, technology, and business outlets, which was made even more impressive considering the coverage ran in July — not your typical soup season.
Overall Campaign Execution:
Partnering with NTWRK, a leader in the "drop"/collector's space, allowed Campbell's to reach an audience interested in art, technology, and collectibles directly, and drove results through over nine million impressions on NTWRK's platform and 149,839 email opens. This success drove awareness of Campbell's NFTs directly to its target audience, with the end result being that 100 percent of the NFTs were sold on OpenSea. Partnering with NTWRK allowed Campbell's to generate consumer buzz around the program.
Mobile Execution:
NTWRK is a mobile-first shopping platform and "drop" culture facilitator; partnering with the company gave Campbell's access both to a popular artist and the platform to reach — and show relevance to — its target audience. The Campbell's NFT was the first branded NFT created and sold on the NTWRK platform, which drove buzz and interest among both consumers and the media.
Campbell's leveraged NTWRK's loyal user base, utilized its functionality as it teased the artwork and dedicated video, and utilized in-app push notifications and an email newsletter from NTWRK to increase interest and buzz around the NFT launch and the new Campbell's can design.
The NFTs were available for purchase on OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, bringing Campbell's further to its relevant audience.
The campaign surpassed its objectives and goals, driving buzz and relevancy with its target audiences by showing how the Campbell's continues to modernize after more than 150 years. The campaign earned:
With the NFTs being re-sold at a higher value than purchased, the demand for Campbell's NFTs was clear. The NFTs originally sold at an average of .05 per unit at launch, with a high re-sale value of .55 in September of 2021.
Since Campbell's NFT launched in July 2021, the brand has watched as other brands such as adidas and Prada jumped into the NFT space. Campbell's early adoption of NFTs generated increased interest and excitement around the launch.
