Over the past few years, hot and humid summers have become pretty standard in Toronto. While most of the city’s dwellers are used to it, booting up their ACs at the first sign of soaring humidity levels, this year, Torontonians struggling with the heat are in for a little frozen reprieve – with a chance to score some free ice cream.
To celebrate National Ice Cream Day on July 20, iconic ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s will be hitting the streets of The Six in its bespoke ‘Doughlivery’ van, giving fans a chance to win free ice cream. The brand activation also promises a few ‘extra-sweet surprises designed to help beat the heat in the most delicious way possible’.
In addition to the ‘Doughliveries’, from July 18-20, sweet-toothed fans placing orders through UberEats are also in for a chance of bagging a free Ben & Jerry’s pint. And, as if that isn’t enough, on National Ice Cream Day, the brand will be handing out free scoops downtown at Toronto’s The Well shopping mall.
To find out more about this seasonally astute brand activation, LBB North America features lead, April Summers, speaks to Benjamin Finn, marketing lead for ice cream at Unilever.
Benjamin> There were a couple key insights that fuelled this activation, both sitting at the intersection of heat and consumer delivery habits.
First and foremost, the key hook behind the idea was activating during the peak heat of summer. Statistically, this week in Toronto, leading up to and on National Ice Cream Day on July 20th, is the hottest week of the year, so it felt fitting to showcase Ben & Jerry’s when our fans need a moment to chill most!
The second insight is stats which show that food delivery app orders rise when the temperatures do, as people simply don’t want to brave the heat – they want their orders brought to them instead. Taking those two core elements, paired with the perfect timing around National Ice Cream Day, felt like the ideal opportunity for ‘Doughlivery’ by Ben & Jerry’s.
Benjamin> Building on the above, knowing many people don’t want to venture out when it’s really hot, we knew we wanted to activate in a way that was centred around bringing our famous chunks and swirls directly to our fans.
Partnering with Uber Eats, a platform where we already have so many passionate fans that buy our products whenever their cravings strike, represented the perfect match. We always want to be where our fans are, when they want us, and Uber Eats enables us to meet them where and when their cravings strike.
Beyond that, the acceleration of digital commerce continues to be a key area of focus for us – we’re investing more both with marketing dollars and dedicated digital commerce personnel, which represents another really clear motivation to both activate in a compelling, fun way rooted in insight, while also leaning in on a business priority.
Benjamin> Our fans have been very clear that they want authentic and joyful experiences – this is what resonates with them. When we market the brand, we want our fans choosing Ben & Jerry’s on every ice cream occasion for the unrivalled chunks, swirls and over the top indulgence, while as you’ve noted, forming an even deeper bond with the vision, values and community focus of the brand. It’s both the amazing quality and purpose that make Ben & Jerry’s like no other.
In the case of our Ben & Jerry’s ‘Doughlivery’ activation, we really leaned in on the surprise-and-delightful, and the pure joy that unexpected ice cream can bring to our fans, while honing focus geographically right here in one of our favourite communities, the city of Toronto. Our ‘Doughliveries’, paired with our sampling at The Well on July 20th where fans can enjoy free scoops and spend time, felt like a great balance.
Benjamin> When we briefed the SALT team on what we were looking to do with Ben & Jerry’s this summer, we focused on three key things.
First, we wanted something that was truly talkable – we know Ben & Jerry’s has the best fans, and we wanted to deepen their love, while also creating a lot of attention to draw in new fans as well.
Secondly, we wanted something experiential – there needed to be an element of gathering, people coming together and the like.
And finally, we wanted to inspire fans, both long-standing and new, to share their experiences on social authentically. Success for the campaign is really built on those core pillars, which, in a nutshell, is maximising earned media and social sharing, while also unlocking product sampling for our fans to experience our famous chunks and swirls, on us, as we know trying our ice cream and appreciating its unrivalled quality is what will bring fans in and keep them coming back.
The early offtake has been truly incredible, and we’re super energised by the fan love and engagement. The SALT team have been phenomenal partners in bringing this vision to life.
Benjamin> As we’ve now started to see the love coming through on social following some of our ‘Doughliveries’ to fans, along with some really tremendous earned media coverage and the passion coming from that as well, it’s not been a surprise but a renewed reminder that ice cream fans, and specifically Ben & Jerry’s fans’ love for our brand is unmatched. Ice cream is an inherently joyful category, and getting to see the authentic, fun-filled moments people are sharing as we build buzz around our ‘Doughlivery’ campaign has been the best.