West of England
Case studies
THE CIPR PRIDE AWARDS 2008
WEST OF ENGLAND REGION
9. Low Budget
Name: Cheddarometer.com
Entrant: Bray Leino
Client: West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers
Background
Bray Leino was appointed by West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers in 2005 to raise the profile of its newly developed brand. The client - a consortium of the 13 cheesemakers - produces West Country Farmhouse Cheddar which carries Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, placing its Cheddar alongside internationally celebrated products including Parma Ham and Champagne. Each cheesemaker produces a Cheddar with a distinct character and an unrivalled depth of flavour and it is this which convinces consumers to choose it over other Cheddars in a crowded market.
Objectives
- raise brand awareness
- substantiate the premium positioning of the brand
- demonstrate the full range of West Country Farmhouse Cheddars
- drive traffic to www.farmhousecheesemakers.com
- create an opportunity to discuss the qualities of West Country Farmhouse Cheddar publicly
Planning
Bray Leino’s ongoing PR campaign is designed to communicate the unique characteristics of the product – traditional and handmade to ensure complexity and depth of flavour. It also positions the group as industrious artisans who take their product more seriously than they do themselves.
Intending to convey each Cheddar’s individual character, complexity and depth of flavour to as many consumers as possible, Bray Leino came up with the idea of creating a formula for the perfect cheese sandwich and its manifestation as a microsite, www.cheddarometer.com, to raise general awareness of the unique selling point of the client’s product, drive traffic to its main website and carry the key messages of the campaign.
Some careful research and negotiation with the sensory analysis team at Bristol University and a hands-on briefing with web designers, combined with a generous helping of creativity, made Cheddarometer a reality.
Creativity
To make Cheddarometer even more appealing to the media, Bray Leino positioned the website as the idea of the group of passionate farmhouse cheesemakers who, as part of their ongoing mission to educate the public about the wonders of farmhouse Cheddar, had previously created www.cheddarvision.tv - the microsite that let visitors watch a round of Cheddar slowly mature on the internet over the course of a year.
Bray Leino produced a witty press release saying that the farmers were so proud of the fact that each of their handmade Cheddars had its own distinct character that they wanted to know how each would fare as the main component of the nation’s favourite sandwich option. They therefore approached the boffins at Bristol University for help.
Having uncovered the formula for the ultimate cheese sarnie, the cheesemakers felt they ought to share it with cheese lovers the world over and have therefore launched a new website which would provide sandwich makers with the automated blueprint for their own perfect culinary creation.
Implementation
Bray Leino approached Bristol University to explore the concept of flavour and how it might be measured and quantified. Using previous organoleptic (taste, flavour, texture, aroma) research conducted by scientist Geoff Nute and his colleagues, Bray Leino created a mathematical algorithm which calculates the optimum thickness for a slice of Cheddar when chosen in combination with various popular sandwich fillings such as pickle, lettuce and sliced tomatoes.
This formula, itself newsworthy, was then used to create a simple piece of software to drive the Cheddarometer microsite, delivering a light-hearted participatory experience for sandwich lovers everywhere and the ideal PR hook. Visitors to the site simply have to select their favoured West Country Farmhouse Cheddar, the type and thickness of bread, and whether or not they want spread, pickle, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise - the Cheddarometer then does the rest by calculating the ideal thickness of Cheddar for their perfect cheese sandwich.
Cheddarometer.com, which was intended to convey the message that ‘real’ Cheddar is an essential ingredient in the perfect cheese sandwich and that each variety varies in flavour, was also set up as a microsite of the group’s main website to carry the brand identity, product information and click through buttons to the main pages. Visitors are also able to forward the site to friends, encouraging further viewings.
Realising the potential broadcast appeal of the story, Bray Leino developed a media strategy with strong emphasis on securing radio air time. Both the print and broadcast releases were then sold in extensively. The resulting national print and radio coverage sparked web visits from thousands of people throughout the UK and subsequently around the world.
Results
The website was launched to print and broadcast media on Friday 20 June, generating 38 pieces of national and regional print coverage including The Daily Star, Daily Telegraph, Bristol Evening Post, Western Morning News and Western Daily Express, online cut-through on The Mail Online, Daily Express Online, Scotsman.com, Metro Online and Channel 4 Online.
A total of 29 radio interviews were secured, including 23 regional BBC stations, eight independent GWR and Sky stations. BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans did a live, five-minute interview, extracts of which were used throughout the following week as the show’s trailer. Furthermore an extract was also used w/c 7 July in a trailer for the Radcliffe and Maconie show in which it was claimed they were the true owners of all things cheese related. In addition, the story was covered in four slots on TV’s BBC Breakfast and Cheddarometer.com was featured as Steve Wright’s website of the day on BBC Radio 2.
Evaluation
Total distinct visits to Cheddarometer at date of entry: 45,000
Click through to main West Country site: 1,425
Total audience (readers and listeners): 51,975,000
AVE: £290,000
ROI: 5,800%
Project budget (including staff/retainer time)
a) £0 to £100,000
Total cost: £5,000
Fee: £3,000 - 5 days @ £600 per day
Costs: £2,000 - microsite build