Although Häagen-Dazs is a distinctive and respected brand with a
commitment to quality, it was facing some issues. Market share was
being threatened, consumers had little connection with the brand,
and price increases were hurting sales. Häagen-Dazs needed to
become more contemporary and regain sales momentum.
Häagen-Dazs depends on bee pollination for more than 40% of its
flavours. It discovered that Colony Collapse Disorder (a phenomenon
in which worker bees from a beehive or Western honey bee colony abruptly
disappear) was a real risk to US agriculture and specifically
Häagen-Dazs. With no bees there would be no natural flavors. With
no natural flavors there could be no Häagen-Dazs.
Research showed that the Häagen-Dazs consumer is more mindful
about what they eat and where it comes from. So Häagen-Dazs aligned
with the CCD cause, allowing the brand to become a participant in a
pressing issue of sustainability.
The hub of the campaign was created at www.helpthehoneybees.com;
a site dedicated to CCD information. Häagen-Dazs then officially
launched the "HD loves HB" campaign by announcing a $250,000
research grant to Penn State and setting up a board of bee experts
to speak to media. In-store A new "Vanilla Honey Bee" flavor was
introduced and Häagen-Dazs' bee-dependent flavours were branded
with the "HD loves HB" logo. A print partnership with National
Geographic, Martha Stewart Living and Gourmet created custom
advertorials, and the first-ever plantable, seed-embedded paper
insert ads, allowing readers to literally take the cause into their
hands. PR was generated with a hip-hop Bee Dance viral video.
Online, swarming bees landed on Epicurious.com's bee-dependent
ingredients, illustrating CCD's potential impact. A Bee Graffiti
contest on Facebook urged users to submit their best honey-bee
inspired drawings.
As a result, unaided brand awareness increased from 29% to 36%.
At launch, baseline sales of Haagen-Dazs increased 5.2% in April
2008 ($ volume). Consumers increased Häagen-Dazs' donation by 16.2%
- $40,632 total. More significantly, the U.S. House Agricultural
Subcommittee invited Häagen-Dazs to testify in June 2008 to urge
Congress' support for CCD research. Representative Dennis Cardoza
called Häagen-Dazs' involvement "extraordinary."