'They're here...'

Carrs Pasties 'They're here...'

We were busy working on a brand campaign for new client Carrs Pasties to launch at the beginning of 2021, but Halloween, a key trading opportunity for the Bolton-based bakery, felt like too good an opportunity to miss.

With Trick or Treating off the cards this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, the aim was to promote Carrs Pasties frozen pasty delivery service – the perfect accompaniment for families celebrating Halloween, at home.

With just a week to turn around, and conscious of the ever-changing restrictions which might have affected our ability to deliver the work, we knew we had to move fast.

Sectors

  • FMCG
  • Consumer

Services

Deliverables

  • Art Direction
  • Brand Campaign
  • Creative Copywriting
  • Video Editing
  • Video Production

The Idea

A ‘light-bulb’ idea moment along with some inspiration from a classic horror film led to the creative idea…


The aim was to produce a piece of content that was bold and unexpected for the Carrs brand. The idea also had to be timely and conveyed with some humour to ensure newsworthiness so we could promote across earned media channels with PR.

With the help of video production agency Sitcom Soldiers, we created an homage to Poltergeist..

The 40 second ad features a family sat in their living room in front of the TV. Both parents are asleep but the little girl, eerily lit by the light from the TV screen, can see something which makes her utter the phrase horror buffs will easily recognise, ‘they’re here..’, as she spots the Carrs Pasties delivery van pulling up outside the house.

Delivery

Launched the week before Halloween weekend to drive orders in the lead up to the 31st October, the ad ran digitally across social channels with spend put behind targeting families in the specific areas Carrs Pasties operates it frozen pasty delivery service. Two audiences were utilised to ensure the content reached those people most likely to engage and purchase - families and people interested in bakery and frozen foods.

In addition to digital, we seeded the campaign to local, national consumer and trade press to generate editorial and build brand awareness of Carrs within relevant press titles.

The fully integrated campaign was implemented by Absolute’s brand, campaign, digital and PR teams and resulted in considerable impact for a small budget, local/regional campaign.

 

Results

Carrs Pasties saw an uplift of 11% in retail sales and an 81% uplift in doorstep delivery sales week on week.

Across digital, the campaign resulted in a ROI of 417%, generating significant sales for the period it was live.

Impact was also felt in the three Carrs Pasties stores in Bolton, with staff commenting that customers were queuing out the door “like it used to be..”

Whilst difficult to compare-like-for-like considering the impact of Covid-19, sales and anecdotal feedback have demonstrated that the campaign reduced the deficit and created a rush in stores.

Press coverage – most of which featured the video content - was achieved across 12 online and print press titles and viewed by a total of 720,000 people. Highlights included the Manchester Evening News, British Baker, MSN and of course, the Bolton News.

The overall result was a bold, engaging and timely piece of content which delivered return on investment for Carrs Pasties during an unprecedented (sorry, we said it!) year.

 

View the behind the scenes video