Häagen-Dazs Brand Boosts Image and Sales With “Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees” Campaign

  

When the iconic Häagen-Dazs brand asked Ketchum to help reinvent its image and drive sales, research provided to the brand revealed that a severe drop in the honey bee population threatened the existence of ingredients like fruits and nuts used in nearly half of Häagen-Dazs ice cream’s 73 flavors. The brand and Ketchum saw the opportunity to draw attention to this little-known problem, while at the same time increasing visibility and promoting its all-natural ingredients.

 

The superpremium ice cream maker and Ketchum created the branded “Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees” campaign to protect the beloved bee. The Häagen-Dazs brand pledged $250,000 for research and championed the cause with a new, limited-edition ice cream flavor -- Vanilla Honey Bee. Meanwhile, Ketchum’s Brand Marketing Practice team developed a comprehensive media campaign connecting the brand to the cause. The team also created an advisory “Bee Board” of experts and reached consumers directly by distributing more than one million free bee-friendly seeds in HD loves HB packets.

 

The innovative campaign yielded more than 277 million media impressions across more than 1,000 unique news placements – 93% of which were overwhelmingly positive toward the brand – which represented a 12 point increase in the level of PR over previous quarters. As a result of the “buzz,” the Häagen-Dazs brand experienced its largest single base-line sales increase (5.2%) in more than a year, and a serious environmental issue received major media attention.

 

“Häagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees” won the 2009 PRWeek Award for Cause-Related Campaign of the Year and an honorable mention for Campaign of the Year; a 2009 gold Clio Award in the Public Relations Consumer category; and a 2009 silver SABRE (Superior Achievement in Branding and Reputation) Award in the Food and Beverage category.