The winner of our £30k Digital Marketing competition is finally poised to launch its first digital marketing campaign – with a little help from Untitled and On&Off Communications. Liz Hamson joins the team on their journey
Single-minded. Down to earth. Eloquent. Charlotte Falkingham has many strengths.
But she'd be the first to admit she's no digital expert, which is why when she saw a competition in The Grocer this January to win an incredible £30,000 worth of digital marketing and PR advice, the regional foods manager of From My Farm leapt at the chance.
She wasn't the only one. Nothing prepared us for the deluge of entries we received. It was tough enough for the judges Untitled MD Rob Hollands, On&Off Communications MD Nigel Pritchard and myself to whittle them down to a shortlist of seven. But that was nothing compared with the job of picking a winner, which is why we got you, our readers, to take on the role of the fourth judge. Cue another sackload of post.
Unfortunately, there could be only one winner. And now, after two months, two meetings and two babies (the excitement of the first meeting was too much for Falkingham - she gave birth to twin boys three days later), it's almost time to unveil the new digital campaign that everyone has been working on. It's been a long journey.
When everyone met for the first brainstorming session, in early August, it's fair to say no-one knew quite what to expect. So to get the ball rolling, Falkingham and Rick Sanderson (From My Farm's commercial manager) outlined the brand's principles and aspirations and Untitled and On&Off talked about the sort of campaigns they had seen from comparable brands that might provide inspiration.
It quickly became apparent that the Produce World-owned brand genuinely had a unique selling point as the UK's only regional fresh produce brand available through the likes of Morrisons, Waitrose and the National Trust.
There was just one problem as far as any national digital marketing campaign went the brand was not available everywhere. Although it hoped to secure listings in the south east of England and the Midlands, its main coverage was restricted to four regions of the UK: the east, Yorkshire, the south west and Scotland.
It would be great to launch a campaign that encouraged consumers to march down to their local supermarkets and demand they stock From My Farm, said Falkingham cheekily. It was a characteristically bold idea, but first From My Farm needed to learn how to walk, said Hollands.
How did From My Farm operate its own website (www.frommyfarm.co.uk) and what other brands had used digital in a way the brand had liked?
Falkingham admitted the website was "not particularly easy or dynamic" to use, prompting Hollands to propose the creation of a bespoke microsite (see above). As for brands that had hit the digital mark, Innocent, Jordans Cereal, Walkers and Marmite were all cited not that any of their approaches would necessarily work for From My Farm. It was time to go off and mull over what had been discussed and for Untitled to pull together some ideas.
The plan was to meet up again in a fortnight, but Falkingham's twins had other ideas and a month later Sanderson stepped up to the plate, together with colleague Lynne Heyes.
Both parties had clearly been busy. Sanderson was confident the brand was close to national listings with two multiple retailers. Co-branding could even be on the cards with one or two potential partners, something that Falkingham had resisted but Sanderson had argued was a compromise worth making.
As he put it bluntly: "It was a case of either grow slow and have a lot of values, or grow fast and make some money. We need to get some traction."
It was music to Untitled's ears. Wider distribution would give the digital agency the chance to create a campaign with real clout.From My Farm appeals to two distinct demographics, noted Untitled creative director Rick Evans: young professionals and over-45-year-old women. With working mums the fastest-growing group on Facebook, utilising social networks like this and Twitter would be critical.
The key was to find an issue that engaged the audience on an emotional level, and there was one issue that united people like no other.
"Bring Back Sundays and family time," said Evans, passing around a couple of mood boards. "It's all about the roast dinner. Six million people sit down for lunch on Sundays, 50% fewer than 40 years ago."
It was time to inspire people to celebrate the Great British institution of the Sunday roast with all the vegetable trimmings, added Untitled social media planner Dudley Wild. The microsite would encourage people to pledge their allegiance to Bring Back Sundays, take part in weekly competitions (for the best-looking roast, say), find out what vegetables were in season, share recipe tips and download an innovative app that "allows people to create the ultimate Sunday roast".
It was audacious but would Sanderson like it? "I think it's bloody brilliant," he said to audible sighs of relief from Untitled. The good news is Falkingham liked it too.
Now, all that remains ahead of the launch later this month is for the microsite design to be finalised and to pick a logo, which is where you come in (see below). Up for grabs for one lucky entrant is a year's subscription to The Grocer. So help From My Farm Bring Back Sundays and propel itself on to the national stage by picking your favourite.
And don't forget to sign up to the campaign yourself! We'll update you on progress in the new year.
Which is your favorite? Vote now.
Read more
From My Farm wins marketing strategy (21 August 2010)
Digital Dragons' Den: the finalists (10 June 2010)
Catching the digital wave (23 January 2010)
Single-minded. Down to earth. Eloquent. Charlotte Falkingham has many strengths.
But she'd be the first to admit she's no digital expert, which is why when she saw a competition in The Grocer this January to win an incredible £30,000 worth of digital marketing and PR advice, the regional foods manager of From My Farm leapt at the chance.
She wasn't the only one. Nothing prepared us for the deluge of entries we received. It was tough enough for the judges Untitled MD Rob Hollands, On&Off Communications MD Nigel Pritchard and myself to whittle them down to a shortlist of seven. But that was nothing compared with the job of picking a winner, which is why we got you, our readers, to take on the role of the fourth judge. Cue another sackload of post.
Unfortunately, there could be only one winner. And now, after two months, two meetings and two babies (the excitement of the first meeting was too much for Falkingham - she gave birth to twin boys three days later), it's almost time to unveil the new digital campaign that everyone has been working on. It's been a long journey.
When everyone met for the first brainstorming session, in early August, it's fair to say no-one knew quite what to expect. So to get the ball rolling, Falkingham and Rick Sanderson (From My Farm's commercial manager) outlined the brand's principles and aspirations and Untitled and On&Off talked about the sort of campaigns they had seen from comparable brands that might provide inspiration.
It quickly became apparent that the Produce World-owned brand genuinely had a unique selling point as the UK's only regional fresh produce brand available through the likes of Morrisons, Waitrose and the National Trust.
There was just one problem as far as any national digital marketing campaign went the brand was not available everywhere. Although it hoped to secure listings in the south east of England and the Midlands, its main coverage was restricted to four regions of the UK: the east, Yorkshire, the south west and Scotland.
It would be great to launch a campaign that encouraged consumers to march down to their local supermarkets and demand they stock From My Farm, said Falkingham cheekily. It was a characteristically bold idea, but first From My Farm needed to learn how to walk, said Hollands.
How did From My Farm operate its own website (www.frommyfarm.co.uk) and what other brands had used digital in a way the brand had liked?
Falkingham admitted the website was "not particularly easy or dynamic" to use, prompting Hollands to propose the creation of a bespoke microsite (see above). As for brands that had hit the digital mark, Innocent, Jordans Cereal, Walkers and Marmite were all cited not that any of their approaches would necessarily work for From My Farm. It was time to go off and mull over what had been discussed and for Untitled to pull together some ideas.
The plan was to meet up again in a fortnight, but Falkingham's twins had other ideas and a month later Sanderson stepped up to the plate, together with colleague Lynne Heyes.
Both parties had clearly been busy. Sanderson was confident the brand was close to national listings with two multiple retailers. Co-branding could even be on the cards with one or two potential partners, something that Falkingham had resisted but Sanderson had argued was a compromise worth making.
As he put it bluntly: "It was a case of either grow slow and have a lot of values, or grow fast and make some money. We need to get some traction."
It was music to Untitled's ears. Wider distribution would give the digital agency the chance to create a campaign with real clout.From My Farm appeals to two distinct demographics, noted Untitled creative director Rick Evans: young professionals and over-45-year-old women. With working mums the fastest-growing group on Facebook, utilising social networks like this and Twitter would be critical.
The key was to find an issue that engaged the audience on an emotional level, and there was one issue that united people like no other.
"Bring Back Sundays and family time," said Evans, passing around a couple of mood boards. "It's all about the roast dinner. Six million people sit down for lunch on Sundays, 50% fewer than 40 years ago."
It was time to inspire people to celebrate the Great British institution of the Sunday roast with all the vegetable trimmings, added Untitled social media planner Dudley Wild. The microsite would encourage people to pledge their allegiance to Bring Back Sundays, take part in weekly competitions (for the best-looking roast, say), find out what vegetables were in season, share recipe tips and download an innovative app that "allows people to create the ultimate Sunday roast".
It was audacious but would Sanderson like it? "I think it's bloody brilliant," he said to audible sighs of relief from Untitled. The good news is Falkingham liked it too.
Now, all that remains ahead of the launch later this month is for the microsite design to be finalised and to pick a logo, which is where you come in (see below). Up for grabs for one lucky entrant is a year's subscription to The Grocer. So help From My Farm Bring Back Sundays and propel itself on to the national stage by picking your favourite.
And don't forget to sign up to the campaign yourself! We'll update you on progress in the new year.
Which is your favorite? Vote now.
Read more
From My Farm wins marketing strategy (21 August 2010)
Digital Dragons' Den: the finalists (10 June 2010)
Catching the digital wave (23 January 2010)
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