Case Study: How Hershey's Valentine's Day campaign resulted in ~1.6X topline growth

Hershey's Valentine's Day campaign case study shows how the brand covered a broad variety of heartwarming relationships in an integrated digital campaign, garnering a reach of 20M+ across digital platforms.

In this Case Study, we take a look at Hershey's Valentine's Day campaign in collaboration with Terribly Tiny Tales (TTT) explored subjects like Galentines, best friends and families, in an attempt to create a campaign that stands out in the cluttered Chocolate category.

Brand Introduction

The 127-year-old Hershey’s brand has leading positions across multiple categories like Chocolates, Syrups, Spreads, Milk Shakes and Cocoa Powder. We are delighted to offer the increasingly discerning premium chocolate consumer, a range of globally loved Hershey’s chocolates that can span multiple consumption occasions.

Hershey's Valentine's Day Case Study - Summary

Valentine's Day has centred around celebrating romance. Hershey’s chose a unique view and designed the Valentine’s Day campaign in a way that the day would extend to celebrating bonds, beyond only romance.  The campaign kick-started on 5^th Feb, with an OTT association wherein the web series - “Butterflies” associated with HERSHEY India to present 5 heartwarming stories, showcasing bonds across 5 different cohorts, ft. renowned duos on television. Butterflies series powered by Terribly Tiny Tales.

The brand on-boarded 5 pairs which entailed a representation of the relationships between a couple, in-laws, an aunt and teenage niece, best friends or a mature friend. The series featured Plabita and Mohit as a dynamic couple, Trisha and Dashan as power in-laws, Naisha and Manvi as classic aunt and niece, Revati and Sejal as vibrant best friends and Karan and Sharad as mature friends.

According to the Hershey's Valentine's Day Case Study, the brand also wanted to establish HERSHEY’S chocolates as a simple, yet thoughtful enabler for expressing one’s emotions to people who are near and dear.

The brand also reached out to and enabled consumers to ‘experience and express’ across online and offline stores. There were special samples that reached out to consumers with key messaging on quick commerce; included in special experience boxes. There were also In-store branded display units amplifying the key messaging.

Problem Statement/Objective

The objective was to further strengthen the bond that HERSHEY’S has with consumers and also the warm connections that it enables between loved ones across various forms of relationships.

Also Read: Case Study: How Bombay Shaving Company democratized Valentine’s Day for non-metro audience

Brief

HERSHEY’S brand purpose is to enable consumers to ‘Celebrate Togetherness’ with their loved ones. Through our premium, indulgent chocolates we strive to create everyday bonding moments. Valentine’s Day has been a celebration of romance, love and bonds

Valentine’s Day is an important occasion for consumers and for categories like chocolates. While all chocolate brands go all out to ‘woo’ the consumers, HERSHEY’S decided to partner with consumers in the true sense to celebrate their loved ones.

Hershey’s partnered with creative teams at WebChutney, Interactive Avenues, Terribly Tiny Tales, and Jio Saavn.

Challenges 

Valentine’s season witnesses strong action by leading players within chocolates; with much higher media spends and resident equity. Being a growing, challenging brand, the key task was to be distinct, and relevant, in the clutter of communication while still staying true to the brand promise and ultimately, playing a part in the consumers’ lives to bring them moments of delight.

Hershey's Valentine's Day Case Study - Execution

Hershey’s three-pronged strategy focused on the following pillars:

• Curating experiences for consumers: Special E-Com gift packs, with a DIY card for immersive, shared, customized experiences
• Clutter-breaking campaign: Redefining Valentine by celebrating love, spanning relationships: Hershey’s #YourForevers
  • First-ever branded web series with TTT: 5 episodes celebrating love within targeted cohorts
  • Integration on the biggest audio platform (Jio Saavn): Curated playlists dedicated to each relationship
  • Driving engagement through top influencers on social media across platforms
  • Traditional media to maximize reach: TV, Out-of-Home

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• Conversions:
  • Accelerate availability across top markets to ensure consumers can find us at scale and with good visibility in a store near them; and celebrate their loved ones with our packs.
  • Leveraging quick commerce:  Partnership with lead platforms to activate and offer shoppers multiple reasons to celebrate with Hershey’s
  • Bolster with targeted sampling to enable conversions and delight.

Results

• The campaign garnered strong reach (20M+) across digital platforms; high consumer-love with high engagement rates (90%+ listenership rate on audio platform) and View Through Rates 1.5X industry benchmark.
• It also resulted in ~1.6X topline growth for Hershey’s with almost 2X jump on its digital commerce topline.

Ankit Desai, Marketing Director, Hershey India mentions, “HERSHEY’S brand purpose is to enable consumers to ‘Celebrate Togetherness’. Through our premium, indulgent chocolates we strive to create everyday bonding moments with loved ones. The concept of soulmate has evolved over time. Your soulmate could be your best friend, your sister or anyone who you consider “Your Forever”. Thus, we came up with a unique creative thought of ‘This Valentine’s Day, Celebrate Your Forevers’, with Hershey’s. The strong campaign idea was brought alive through multiple forms of storytelling, across relevant platforms, be it web series, audio, social, via influencers, TV and Outdoors. Our collaborations with TTT and Jio Saavn helped us bring this alive in an exciting and engaging way through heart-tugging storytelling.”