Embracing the Unexpected

The Challenge

A sausage company with flavor was born out of a desire to do things differently — using creativity and imagination to come up with unexpected combinations. They had a steady vision for who they are as a brand … but they came to us to help them understand sausage super fans, in order to be able to connect with them in a compelling manner.

The Approach

To truly understand lovers of this brand, we wanted to do more than just ask them questions; we wanted to deeply immerse ourselves in their overall food world. To genuinely connect with Upbeat Food Explorers on the West Coast, we did online ethnographies, cooked with groups of guys at their homes, hosted Iron Chef-style cooking extravaganzas … and went shopping with our guys to understand his favorite brands and his cooking inspiration. From there, we brought the heart and soul of these meat-heads to life through an documentary style film and and an engaging debrief that brought them into the board room, allowing cross-functional teams to feel close to this audience.

The Impact

As well as helping cross-functional teams really start to understand their audience, we helped the brand set strategic guardrails for the future — working with them to understand potential territories to play in that stay true to their brand … while linking to the everyday wants and needs of these sausage lovers.