Maggi launched an integrated campaign based on cooking for the Vietnamese holiday of Tet.
Objective:
In 2021, the Vietnamese holiday of Tet arrived with an unprecedented challenge. The pandemic profusely shifted consumer needs and behaviors. Consumers had less to spend, were staying home more, consuming media much differently and longing for a better new year.
To cut through the clustered Tet communication and get ahead of competitors in this key consumption season, Maggi needed to redefine a unique Tet proposition that is most meaningful to consumers in the new context, then execute it in an integrated approach, creating a novel brand experience for consumers.
Having both practically and emotionally supported Vietnamese through earlier waves of Covid-19, Maggi had the credentials and the platform to help consumers relieve some of the pressure and ignite a positive spirit in the new year through cooking.
Performance indicators focused on top-of-mind awareness, brand equity, and impact on purchase motivation.
Target Audience:
Maggi wanted to appeal to those who are more willing to embrace a modern mindset to cooking. They are novice cooks and progressive moms (ages 25 to 44) who value new food experiences and easy cooking inspirations as a way to express themselves and make life more exciting every day. They are digital natives who seek inspiration and entertainment on online platforms and have also become much more active on e-commerce as a result of Covid-19.
Creative Strategy:
Maggi understood that for the novice cooks, cooking should not be seen as a chore, but rather an opportunity to make a difference by bringing their personality to life. This rings true especially for Tet, as it is perceived that everything a person does at the beginning of the year will influence the good fortune to come.
Believing in the positive spirit that cooking can spark for the new year through creative, exciting Tet dishes, Maggi launched the concept of "Cook Your Difference To Spice Up Tet" through an integrated campaign across eight different platforms in the consumer journey.
A media strategy was strategically deployed with the intention to not only effectively reach consumers, but also to create an integrated experience for consumers throughout all platforms and touchpoints.
The media strategy was sketched out following the consumer digital journey, starting from inspiring videos running on Facebook and YouTube as well as on TV. There were also personalized videos combined with interactive formats to engage with audiences and increase their consideration. Given the increase in views year-over-year of videos related to in-home activities during the Tet period, especially those that involved food and cooking, Maggi deployed an experiential livestream a few weeks before Tet to capture consumer anticipation for Tet food while maximizing user interactions. Media was also very well-allocated for lower funnel assets, including engagement activities in cooking communities as well as driving traffic on digital platforms Cooky and GrabMart to trigger purchases of Maggi Ready to Cook Packages.
Overall Campaign Execution:
This was the first year of the campaign.
Maggi inspired consumers with the message of "Cook to express your difference" through high reach channels: TV and digital.
The message was pushed to climax with a live cooking competition on Facebook featuring three key opinion leaders (KOLs) showcasing their takes on the same Tet dish. The experience was enhanced by AI-enabled audience interaction and trendy rap music. The anthem was then leveraged on YouTube and Spotify, helping to promote the campaign further in an exciting way. The idea was amplified through personalized messages on digital throughout the phases of Tet, leading consumers to the Maggi Recipe Hub to influence their purchase decision during the holiday.
In a year when consumers shopped more from home, the brand bridged the gap between intention and action with digital commerce platforms Cooky and GrabMart. Maggi products were bundled with fresh ingredients in Ready To Cook Recipe Packages, delivered at consumers' doorsteps.
To guide and engage consumers further, Maggi organized interactive cooking classes with KOLs on the culinary online community Cooky and encouraged consumers to share their unique, colorful dishes. The campaign triggered thousands of user-generated-content among Facebook's foodie communities. The brand turned these online audience interactions into over 10,000 Tet supplies for those in need, sparking positivity for the bigger community, amplified through PR.
Total investment for the campaign was around 680,000 USD, 45 percent of which was allocated to digital platforms with mobile-first content. A high percentage of the budget was invested in digital. Maggi used TV (55 percent of the budget) to establish and set the base for awareness, but digital helped to increase consideration, drive action, and drive purchasing motivation.
Mobile Execution:
Vietnamese people spent more time watching online content, especially on mobile devices. Maggi's campaign was built around a mobile-friendly platform. The brand launched a two-phase campaign that followed best practices on mobile creative across platforms.
Phase 1: Awareness
Digital video was spread on Facebook and YouTube with mobile creatives (vertical, sound off and text overlay) to highlight the message, "Cook to express who you are." Eighty percent of the audience received the message throughout mobile devices.
Phase 2: Inspire & Connect
Facebook was used to spread daily recipe inspiration and magnify the message of "Cook to express what you are" throughout Tet.
Maggi targeted communication to the young audience of novice cooks, on top of the usual foundational layer of reach and frequency for awareness. It strategically decided to employ trending and appealing formats to younger cooks that helped drive excitement and maximum engagement for its conversation over "Cook What You Are" through:
Interactive poll ads: The ad came with clickable buttons beneath the characters, along with a triggering question of "Which is your cooking style?" When clicked, either on "Quick & Easy" or "Creativity", a pop-up would show the percentage of each choice made by all users. An "Explore Now" call-to-action button was also embedded to ultimately drive traffic to the Maggi website post-engagement.
Livestream co-created with KOLs: Maggi partnered with celebrities and KOLs for its branded content, the first time ever on Facebook and Instagram. The brand delivered branded content under a trending rap theme in a livestream format with three objectives: 1) teasing and RSVP, 2) promotion of live event, 3) post-live key moments recap. The content concluded with an exclusive Tet-themed song for Maggi (optimized for mobile in-stream) by rapper G-Ducky.
The Vietnamese culinary category has been stagnant for the past two years. With the exception of a stock-up peak due to COVID-19, key Maggi categories like soya sauce and bouillon have been softening due to negative growth. All brands have been perceived to be similar with no significant differences. Maggi, as a premium brand, got negatively impacted from this category commodification, losing shares in almost all categories in which it competes, such as soya sauce, oyster sauce and bouillon. The target was set for Maggi in Tet 2021, a key consumption season and the start of a new year, to turn around the situation.
Within three months, using an integrated approach across eight platforms, the campaign lifted awareness, conversions, and action intent significantly among the target audience.
Maggi's brand power improved in all key attributes of meaningfulness, difference, and salience. For the first time ever, Maggi was a leader of brand equity score among culinary-aid brands.
Beyond strengthening the brand, the campaign also led to gains in market share, consumption, ad recall, action intent, and conversion lift percentage. The Cook-off attracted remarkable interest and engagement, thanks to the selection of KOLs, entertaining content and interactive tactics.
The livestream received more than 880,000 total views. Thousands of consumers joined the movement to spice up Tet with their unique, colorful dishes, creating increased brand buzz.
