Background:
In 2019, Heinz launched Kranch - a ketchup-ranch mashup. Despite the world’s love for ketchup and ranch, sales suffered. The Washington Post labeled it “...the latest condiment mash-up we didn't need,” and in 2023, it became one of the worst performing sauces in the Heinz portfolio. To unlock the sales potential of this struggling sauce, we needed to reach a new audience of Gen Zs and drive cultural relevancy. Our objective was to create a new campaign that would generate an explosive earned conversation and drive sales of Kranch.
Strategy:
We set out to get Kranch, one of Heinz worst performing condiments, into the zeitgeist to connect with a younger audience, ignite relevancy and drive sales. We needed to create conversation, but didn’t have new news about the product. Instead, our strategy was to hijack a cultural moment to transform Kranch into a sought after sensation.
In September 2023, Taylor Swift’s romance with NFL player Travis Kelce took over the internet. Swifties became enthralled with every aspect of their relationship, down to the snacks Taylor ate while watching Kelce at her first NFL game. When one Twitter account shared a photo of Taylor at the game with the caption "Taylor Swift was eating a piece of chicken with ketchup and seemingly ranch!" it exploded.
While tons of brands were trying to take advantage of this moment, we recognized that only one truly belonged in this ketchup-ranch conversation: Heinz Kranch. And we knew that 56% of Swifties – the most dedicated fanbase in popular culture – are millennial or Gen Zs, making this the perfect opportunity to reach our target and make our underperforming sauce relevant for anyone with an affinity for Taylor Swift.
Execution:
We saw the perfect opportunity to give Kranch its long overdue moment. And while countless brands responded to this viral moment with reactive social posts. But we took it further. We did what no other brand could: rebranding and relaunching a product in real time.
Within 24 hours of the viral Taylor Swift post, we re-released Kranch, with a new name and label: Heinz Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch. Turning Kranch from a failure into the must-have item for the most devoted fanbase in the world, seemingly overnight.
The day after the Taylor tweet went viral we announced the arrival of this new limited-edition sauce on social. Within 48 hours we launched a full campaign. We even got our bottles to tailgates at that week’s NY Jets vs. Chiefs game, where Taylor Swift was again in attendance. In conjunction with the launch social post, widespread media outreach kicked off to spread the word to top-tier media.
The sauce quickly became a must-have for Swifties, who sold out the bottle in minutes and even made embroidered sweaters in honor of their new favourite condiment. We continued to follow the story—literally—bringing Heinz Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch bottles straight to Chiefs games with Swift in attendance where it naturally became a tailgate staple.
As our campaign continued to trend, Walmart reached out to order Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch as a permanent product.
Results:
We turned our underperforming sauce into a must have for the biggest, most dedicated fanbase in the world. Our campaign generated over 6.1B earned impressions—the highest ever for Kraft-Heinz — receiving coverage from TMZ, The Today Show, Stephen Colbert, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN. Heinz was mentioned in 63% of articles covering Taylor and Travis’ relationship, and across over 2,200 placements, we received 99% positive/neutral sentiment.
Swifties helped our first run of LTO bottles sell out almost immediately. Our launch post garnered an engagement rate 690% above benchmarks, countless fans made TikTok duets, some even fan-made embroidered sweaters with “Heinz Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch” on them.
And when Walmart added “Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch” as a permanent item, sales rose 320%. In fact, we saw 5x the sales growth of Heinz iconic ketchup. To this day, Walmart still sells Heinz Ketchup & Seemingly Ranch nationally.
