Spotlight On: Chobani #PlainInspiring
by Tracy David
In this new 'Spotlight On' series, we feature best practices from successful social campaigns from leading brands around the globe.
Chobani entered the Australian market in late 2011 and quickly became one of the fastest growing yogurt brands in the country ( Chobani, Warc Prize for Social Strategy 2015 ). But, by 2014 Chobani saw increased competition from more established yogurt brands that had launched their own Greek yogurt products. In order to sustain its growth trajectory, Chobani learned it needed to change course.
Armed with only a small budget, yet an ambitious plan to increase brand awareness and household penetration of plain yogurt, Chobani turned to social media. The brand’s objective: to craft a strategy that would expand its market share by encouraging consumers to think of yogurt beyond just breakfast.
Chobani Australia launched the #PlainInspiring campaign targeted to tap into its audience’s inner “master chef” by challenging them to create new recipes for plain yogurt. Chobani understood that this audience was not only passionate about food, they also had a deep-down desire to unleash creativity, gain recognition and belong to a community. The campaign, which ran from April to June 2014, harnessed the power of user-generated content and was focused primarily on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Instagram
On Instagram, Chobani kicked off its campaign by posting photos that served as a source of inspiration for its creative audience. The objective behind these photos was to encourage audiences to think about yogurt beyond the traditional breakfast food, and to create their own dishes using Chobani plain yogurt.
Chobani then asked consumers to share their #PlainInspiring creations on Instagram for a chance to be featured on Chobani’s social channels and win a trip to NYC. The brand used its combination of image inspirations and photography tips from #PlainInspiring judges to encourage its followers to send in winning creations.
In Q2 2014, the #PlainInspiring campaign on Instagram made up 81% of Chobani Australia’s Instagram posts with engagement outpacing content creation, capturing 86% of the brand’s total actions (likes, comments) on the platform.
Facebook
On Facebook, Chobani Australia’s objective was to extend its reach and grow its Facebook fan base by 24%, from approximately 19K in April to 24K fans by the end of the campaign in June.
In Q2, actions (likes, comments, shares) on Facebook grew by 107% with shares of Chobani content growing by 56% compared to Q1. This increase in actions and shares subsequently helped the brand grow its fan base, which increased by 129%, from 19K to 43K, exceeding Chobani’s original goal.
Additionally, the community responded by posting comments asking for recipes of the featured images, and to learn more about Chobani.
At the peak of the campaign in May 2014, total Facebook actions (likes, comments, shares) grew to 12,760—an 873% increase from the start of the campaign in April.
Twitter
Chobani used Twitter to build relationships with foodies and influencers, encouraging them to share Chobani-inspired creations among their audiences. As a result, the brand’s total actions (favorites, retweets) grew by 16% in Q2 compared to Q1 2014.
Social Success
Overall, Chobani’s #PlainInspiring campaign was a social success. During the campaign, Chobani Australia increased posting by 93% compared to Q1 2014 with engagement outpacing content growing by 147%, from 7,343 to 18,147 actions across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Amplification (shares and retweets) of Chobani’s content grew by 50%, from 435 to 652 shares and retweets from Q1 to Q2. Lastly, Facebook impressions grew by 63% quarter over quarter, with Chobani’s fan base growing by 129%.