Pukka has been making and baking pies for over 55 years and it’s a brand that everyone has fond memories of. But the reality is that pies aren’t people’s go-to meal anymore. It was our job to change that.
We needed to get a feel for what the nation thinks about pies. So, we delved into some numbers and qualitative insights.
The good news in short? People love pies. And Pukka.
The bad room for improvement? They struggle against meal alternatives like pizza and pasta.
That’s the retail situation in a nutshell, but we didn’t want to forget Pukka’s foodservice roots.
A winning combo of deep & meaningful conversations with chippy owners and a national poll told us that whilst there’s an appetite for pies, chip shops needed reminding why they should stock the nation’s #1.
We mapped our research with the Pukka shopper profile and ring-fenced 35+ c1/c2 men and women who look for quick, filling meals for their families – either from the supermarket or out and about. Aka. Our potential pie-buyers.
We knew if we could tap into their positive associations with pies, we’d be onto a winner.
With our bullseye audience clear, we had to find a way to get them to park pizza and pasta and make Pukka their go-to.
As makers and bakers of pies for everyone, ‘the people’s pie’ was a campaign platform born out of the truth that people are at the heart of everything Pukka does. Real people, real meals, and real food.
By putting the brand’s values of people and quality at the heart of our comms, we reminded everyone why they should choose Pukka.
The Tactics
We brought ‘the people’s pie’ to life using a killer combo of trade and consumer comms to put more pies on plates.
Think orange press ads + a pie and a pint pub quiz for journos + a barometer study of people’s pie-eating habits to help us hit the headlines year-round. (pssst, we settled the debate once and for all. Brits are adamant that a pie is only a pie if it has a pastry, bottom, side and lid…) damn right.
Coupled with thumb-stopping campaign content, our paid social strategy ensured we made 35+ c1/c2 men and women hungry for Pukka.
And to top if off, we offered chip shops up and down the country a sneak preview of the people’s pie tv ad which featured a real chippy to drive people into their local.
