Ice cream brands get social with NPD sneak peeks

This article is part of our Ice Cream Report 2015.

Causing a stir on Facebook is all about the big reveal for ice cream brands. And those that have used the social media platform to give fans a sneak peek of upcoming flavours have topped our list of the category’s ‘most social’ brands, compiled by content marketing agency Headstream.

Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry’s and Mackie’s are the most ‘socially active’ brands on Facebook, thanks to posts unveiling NPD in the run up to summer that prompted a surge in likes, comments and shares.

Such activity has the potential to go way beyond Facebook likes, says Headstream account executive Victoria Bellamy. “These posts have the potential to encourage purchase and are considered valuable enough for fans to share them with their friends, helping ice cream brands reach a larger audience through trusted networks,” she says. 

Although Cornetto has the largest Facebook community than any of the other ice cream brands, Haagen-Dazs is at the top of the ranking thanks to the continual drip-feeding of NPD in the form of professionally shot, seductive photographs.

“Haagen-Dazs is structured in its approach using professional imagery, posting regularly and responding promptly to Facebook users interacting with the page,” says Bellamy.

Haagen-Dazs’s activity means the brand also wins out over Ben & Jerry’s, which has a larger Facebook fan base, because the brand posts more regularly and features a higher proportion of video and images in their feed.

“This suggests that there is a real opportunity for ice cream brands to leverage Facebook’s ad platform and gain cost-effective, highly targeted and measurable reach and engagement around key product launches,” says Headstream’s Bellamy.

Top three posts:

Haagen-Dazs: first picture of chocolate salted caramel flavour

Likes: 16,332 Comments: 1,082 Shares: 710

Encouraging  fans to ‘give in to their sweet tooth’ with the unveiling of tubs of the new chocolate salted caramel flavour sent Haagen-Dazs soaring to the top of the ranking with more than 16k likes, more than six times more that of the next socially active brand, Ben & Jerry’s. Posts also included tempting images of chocolate and salted caramel chunks (hashtag: #RealorNothing). “Haagen-Dazs has found a formula that works for them and it’s likely this includes paid media support to ensure content reaches the target audience and the fan base, and that levels of engagement continue to grow,” says Bellamy.

Ben & Jerry’s: introducing cookie cores

Likes: 2,707 Comments: 541 Shares: 650

After teasing fans with an image showing the empty outline of an ice cream tub surrounded by a pile of cookies with nothing but a lid splashed with the slogan ‘New’ (pictured), Ben & Jerry’s unveiled their new three-strong cookie core range three days later, winning the brand more than 2,000 likes and 650 shares. The brand has moved two places up the table since last year by taking a similar approach to Haagen-Dazs and focussing content on NPD. Yet the brand’s personality is more pronounced than its rival, with regular posts about issues the brand supports including the Fairtrade Foundation, renewable energy and marriage equality around the world. “Although these posts don’t receive the same level of engagement as the brand’s product posts, they spark discussion and help Ben & Jerry’s to test the reception these topics might have with their wider consumers,” says Bellamy.

Mackie’s: two new indulgent flavours

Likes: 703 Comments: 309 Shares: 697

It might have a relatively low number of page likes compared to industry giants Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s but Mackie’s fans are highly engaged when it comes to shares. The Scottish ice cream brand garnered almost 700 shares – more than Ben & Jerry’s and almost as much as Haagen-Dazs – by giving fans the chance to win a tub of its two new flavours – white chocolate & coconut and salted caramel. “Since last year’s analysis Mackie’s has moved four places up the ranking,” says Bellamy. “The brand is posting high quality content more regularly and has also harnessed the success of posts that offer the community the chance to win a prize.”

In partnership with

_{Social and content marketing agency Headstream partnered with The Grocer to compile this study. The Grocer provided Headstream with an original source list of the 11 socially active ice cream brands to be considered, and their social performance was monitored for the one month period of 17 February to 17March 2015 inclusive. Where no active UK page was found, we reverted to the global page with posts visible to the UK audience. Within this time frame we extracted each of the Facebook posts that were published on the relevant brand pages and analysed their engagements. For the purpose of this report, an engagement is considered to be a like, comment or share on Facebook. We awarded one point for a like, two for a comment, and three for a share – based on their value to the brand. These figures were then totalled to form the combined score shown in the ranking.}