Help Bees Get Busy

Consumer Activation Target
Next Generation Rocketers

Challenge
Reintroduce Häagen-Dazs to the next generation of consumers by enticing hip, authentic seeking indulgers to discover the real Häagen-Dazs at colleges and universities:

• Speak to students’ search for quality and authenticity by bringing to life the brand’s “made like no other” story
• Break through with uniquely relevant and interesting messaging
• Tie back to retail both on and off campus
• Generate buzz for Häagen-Dazs

Solution
In looking at the college student, the audience responded well to brands that actively supported a cause in which students could identify with. With so many college students engaged in eco-friendly causes, the agency recommended leveraging Häagen-Dazs’ successful “help the honey bees” campaign in a way that was uniquely relevant for college students. The campaign idea: Help Bees Get Busy. It consisted of a teaser campaign, followed by a strong mix of on campus media and experiential marketing—all designed to get students’ attention and convert competitive users over to Häagen-Dazs.

To break through in a clever, creative and impactful way, we kicked the campaign off with a faux newspaper cover, and removed every letter “B” from every headline and article. It looked like a real newspaper front page! The reverse side of the page featured a bold full-color ad that explained why the letter B was missing—to call attention to the honey bee crisis, that has the potential to greatly impact the world’s natural food supply, including all-natural ingredients found in Häagen-Dazs products. Additionally, the ad included a call to action, inviting students to purchase a carton of Häagen-Dazs on campus, and a flower would be planted in the Campus Buzzway at the Honeybee Haven garden at UC Davis.

The teaser ad was followed by on and near campus messaging that reinforced the bee campaign, and drove consumers online to a promotional microsite, to help determine which flower mix would be planted at the Campus Buzzway. The look and feel and tone of all creative elements pushed the brand beyond their traditional, elegant style, and allowed Häagen-Dazs to break through. Support included:

• Sampling Events: Campus ambassadors adorned with “Help Bees Get Busy” t-shirts distributed samples of Häagen-Dazs ice cream and backpack buttons to students.
• Retail Merchandising: Reinforced the “Help Bees Get Busy” message and drove purchase through “buy Häagen-Dazs, plant a flower” offer
• Campus Media: Dorm room door hangers, table tents, wild postings and campus posters drove awareness on campus and directed consumers to the promotional microsite
• On/Near Campus Coffee Sleeve Marketing: Coffee sleeves on coffee cups on and near campuses featured program message and drove consumers online to learn and participate
• Promotional Microsite: Interactive site www.helpthehoneybees.com/campusbuzz included program details and invited consumers to vote, learn and share!

Results
The “Help Bees Get Busy” campaign, combined with faux newspaper cover, helped introduce a new group of college students to the Häagen-Dazs brand. Using the metaphoric “missing B” in the college newspaper to bring to life the honey bee crisis in the collegiate environment was a unique spin that had stopping power, and relevance, among college students. The program generated over 2 million media impressions, 67,000 PR impressions tied to the Campus Buzzway, and delivered a strong sampling experience to students on campus. Because of the program, the brand was able to re-gain distribution on a campus where they had recently been discontinued. But the greatest success is the creation of the Campus Buzzway, which continues to gain traction and is a three-dimensional result of the campaign that will live on for years to come.