Crossmedia Account Director Alex Barnes, who leads the Los Angeles-based Tillamook team, said the response was amazing. “We were out of cheese within six hours. It was a huge, huge win,” he explained.
How does a media agency generate conversation, encourage product trials, increase brand awareness and help a client own a moment in time by executing on all those objectives on a single day with a modest budget? Crossmedia relied on creativity, speed and the client’s own remarkable cheese to orchestrate a viral Twitter campaign that created national buzz about the 110th birthday of Tillamook Creamery, a historically regional brand that’s aiming to grow its footprint beyond the Pacific Northwest. The Crossmedia-led activation included officially declaring the day before Valentine’s National Cheddar Day — and then giving away an actual ton of Tillamook’s creamy cow’s milk cheddar on Feb. 13.
Tillamook Cheese at the Door in 2 Hours
The first 1,000 fans who used the hashtag #NationalCheddarDay with the cheese emoji on Twitter in five designated market areas (DMAs) —Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas, Washington DC and Atlanta — won a 2-pound loaf of golden medium cheddar. In an outstanding feat of logistics, the cheese was delivered to doors within two hours
Crossmedia Account Director Alex Barnes, who leads the Los Angeles-based Tillamook team, said the response was amazing. “We were out of cheese within six hours. It was a huge, huge win,” he explained.
Barnes said the hashtag created a buzz that swept the nation: #NationalCheddarDay trended No. 1 in all five DMAs and No. 5 in the USA for three hours. “The campaign generated 9.2 million earned impressions, 28.4 thousand engagements and 100 pieces of user-generated content in one day,” he added.
Community Conversation, Product Trials
Crossmedia Los Angeles worked collaboratively with 72andSunny, a creative ad agency, and Fooji, an experiential technology company that delivered the cheese to the fans who earned it. Because the campaign was held on a weekday, most of the deliveries were made to offices. That amplified the conversation because it got whole offices talking. What’s more, it increased the numbers of people who had opportunities to taste the cheese — a key goal of the Tillamook Creamery team. “People are obsessed with Tillamook. It’s been called the Tillamook twilight zone because once you try it, you’re hooked,” Barnes said.
Founded in 1909 in heart of Oregon Coast dairy country, Tillamook is a farmer-owned co-operative known for its cheese, ice cream, yogurt, sour cream and butter. Last year the Tillamook County Creamery Association decided to future-proof its business with a national growth strategy that added more than 6,000 retail stores to its distribution network east of the Rocky Mountains.
Respect for the Brand’s Mission and Values
The challenge is growing sales from around $800 million in 2017 to more than $1 billion in just a few years — without losing touch with the soul of the brand that prioritizes passion, innovation and “doing the right thing by our farmer-owners, our employees, our communities and our consumers. Always.” As Tillamook’s media agency of record since 2015, Crossmedia has been strategically helping the brand to reach its goals with plans aligned to its mission and values. The Twitter campaign met those objectives, Barnes said.
“Sometimes brands attach themselves to a cultural moment that really doesn’t align with their brand ethos or their values. But this was perfect. It was appropriate, on-brand and offered value to customers. The customers who tweeted got a great product at no cost and they got it within two hours,” he said. “It was all pretty remarkable.”
Say “Cheese” — and Applaud Our Team
In addition to Barnes, the Crossmedia Tillamook team includes Angie Yi, marketplace director; Jamaica Perry, marketplace planner; Chris Mata, account supervisor; Allison Garcia, media planner; and Nathanael Christian, assistant media planner.
