Nature Valley
Nature Valley is the UK’s leading cereal bar brand. Reflected by using only natural ingredients, their mission is to get people exploring the outdoors and experiencing the very best of nature. But when Covid hit, shopping and adventure habits changed. Suddenly, on the go snacking – a key part of Nature Valley’s sales – was put on the red list.
With change comes opportunity. Now was the perfect time to implement a fresh and bold approach for the brand. In the backdrop of a pandemic, our task was to articulate Nature Valley’s brand purpose to #GetOutMore by motivating UK audiences to get outside and seize adventure, even when it seemed out of reach.
We saw the power in being unconventional for a snack bar brand, and the opportunity to stand out. The question was posed – what if we could act like a tourist body, but for nature?
A new partnership was formed: Nature Valley x TripAdvisor | The World’s First Tourism Campaign for Nature
The new global brand purpose was centred on simplicity; to re-discover the beauty on our doorsteps. By brokering an FMCG-first partnership with TripAdvisor – the world’s largest travel agency – we were able to lean on the language and reach normally reserved for major tech platforms to deliver a multi-channel campaign at scale.
With lockdowns fresh on our minds and international travel on hold, a nervousness lingered for the outside world. So, we devised a national campaign that showcased the true beauty on our doorsteps. The central idea was to take the exciting language normally reserved for international travel, and inspire audiences to ‘Get Out More’, seek adventure, and re-discover the UK in all her glory.
The partnership with TripAdvisor sat at the heart of the campaign, supported by co-branded digital and social assets across Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, alongside a suite of digital display banners and an interchangeable homepage.
TripAdvisor’s inventory gave Nature Valley the platform to create a localised experience on a national scale. The campaign was seamlessly flexed depending on demographic, with TripAdvisor supporting the activity using programmatic online video and digital assets, targeting consumers based on browsing history and interests to serve them with specific destination guides.
Adapting the campaign further, market insight led us to create branded versions in line with product variants and key audience groups; Family/City Escapes (Crunchy) Urban Adventures (Protein) and Urban Hideaways (Sweet ‘n’ Salty Nut).
To drive targeted audience engagement, we maximised UGC and ran a competition through Instagram and Facebook; asking real families to share an image of them enjoying the great outdoors in all its glory. Digital display, OOH, and social were filled with #GetOutMore posts. Not only to drive purchase, but also highlighting undiscovered spots on our doorsteps.
The competition received thousands of entries and generated a bank of UK nature-based UGC for their ‘always on’ social strategy.
The three KPI’s for the campaign were awareness, consideration, and conversion. As people re-experienced UK nature in all its glory, Nature Valley reached an audience of over 43 million, attracting 236k new buyers in the process – generating a 12.1% uplift in sales values which equalled a 2.2% increase in market share points.
In a year no one will forget, the staggering performance directly subverted the pre-campaign decline and reinstated Nature Valley as a brand determined to help their audiences seize the most out of life, whatever the circumstance.
Sales value
Market share points
New buyers
Social reach
FMCG brand to partner with TripAdvisor
Best Brand Building/Awareness