Embracing the Unexpected

The Challenge

Helping our creative sausage client understand where they have a right to play and how best to connect with their super fans.

Our client 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 and innovate in a way that was both relevant to their current base and their new consumers as well.

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 their audience 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 a documentary-style film 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.