How Heinz recruited 1,102 restaurants to launch a new ketchup
Heinz and McDonald's had parted ways in Brazil, but the ketchup brand had a trick up its sleeve to activate an army of guerilla, underdog, "Other Mcs".
Context
In 2021, Heinz Ketchup in Brazil introduced a pickles-flavored ketchup, which garnered attention due to its resemblance to McDonald's ketchup. Despite their previous partnership with McDonald's ending in 2013, Heinz seized the opportunity in April 2023 to launch a campaign aiming to become the official ketchup of independent burger joints in Brazil that imitate McDonald's branding.
Strategy
There were 11,540 such independent "Mc" restaurants compared to only 850 actual McDonald's outlets in 2021. The brand offered support to 1,102 of these restaurants, enhancing their ingredients, delivery options, visual merchandising, and providing Heinz Pickles ketchup for an authentic "McTaste." They also created customizable ads to promote these small businesses, featuring popular musicians and local influencers with “MC” in their names.
Outcome
Heinz's Pickles ketchup became the best-selling product on Amazon Brazil in the food category, and the brand experienced a remarkable 67% growth during the campaign. Additionally, the small fast food businesses collaborating with Heinz Ketchup saw an average Net Promoter Score (NPS) increase of 42%.
The work
