CHALLENGE

Although Easter is a major holiday for most confectioners, Peterbrooke Chocolatier® — a luxury confectioner — historically never had great success during the Easter season.

Big box retailers with off-the-shelf candy and inexpensive ready-made Easter baskets proved to be steep competition. Even though this chocolate company had these particular items also readily available, its target audience of mothers never felt a strong enough reason to choose their neighborhood chocolatier over a one-stop retailer.

The target audience was not willing to pay premium prices for premium chocolates. They felt the lower-priced grocery store products were an acceptable alternative for their children. We decided to create a difference maker.

SOLUTION

A new promotional item was hatched for Easter. Dubbed the “Wonder Egg,” its 6-inch long, pure milk chocolate eggshell was deliciously stuffed with 4 ounces of the confectioner’s signature chocolate-covered popcorn.

The buzz created by the Wonder Egg, coupled with the fact that it could only be found at our client’s retail stores, quickly shifted the ensuing Easter campaign to center around this in-demand, new and unique item. The Wonder Egg was featured in all campaign communications — from direct mail, in-store posters and food blogger reviews, to local news coverage, Facebook and even yard signs.

The direct mail used a highly targeted list of families who had children ages 2 to 8 in the home. We focused on buying habits, as well as psychographics. The direct mail reached 1000 chocolate lovers within driving distance of participating locations. The excitement generated among the public and the store operators led to substantial traffic and sales increases. The Wonder Egg’s success inspired our client to evaluate the creation of a special promotional product for every holiday.

RESULTS

Within days of the direct mail drop and our other communication tactics for our client, there was considerable buzz in the affected DMAs. Remarkably, the Wonder Egg sold out at every store within 2 weeks of the campaign’s start—some within a single week. Overall, the chocolatier saw an increase of 16.6% in sales year-to-date.

In addition to attracting a previously elusive customer base, the client’s Wonder Egg gave mothers a new reason to pay the premium price for Easter goods at its stores. Since the Wonder Egg could only be found at our client’s retail stores, its exclusivity did the trick on both counts…new customers and more revenue!

“Your team was able to turn our urgent needs projects around within 24 hours when needed. The ability to assist us in a timely manner and to provide input on how to accomplish the needed project in the best manner was also very helpful to us.”

– Andy Stenson
VP of Marketing, Peterbooke Chocolatier