Heinz

HEINZ - IT HAS TO BE HEINZ (Case Study) | Campaign

1. Background

Heinz Ketchup, globally recognized for its glass bottle, iconic red keystone label, and unmatched taste, faced a risk of losing its iconic status after 150 years. With increasing pressure from off-brand competitors, Heinz sought to reignite emotional connections with consumers through culturally relevant brand experiences — not by claiming superiority, but by letting the world say it: It Has to Be Heinz.

2. Idea

We created a series of work over 5 years that proved It Has to Be Heinz. Pour Perfectly solved a 150 year old mystery by showing consumers the perfect angle to get Heinz out of the bottle. When the world shut down, we gave consumers something to do: A 570 piece puzzle in Heinz red. We launched a campaign asking people to Draw Ketchup. Everyone drew Heinz.

When AI started trending, we tapped into the conversation and asked it to draw ketchup. Even AI drew Heinz. We rallied the nation to put an end to uneven bun and weiner packages with Hot Dog Pact. We launched Ketchup Fraud to put an end to restaurants refilling Heinz bottles with inferior ketchup.

When a fan account shared Taylor Swift eating ketchup and “seemingly” ranch at an NFL game, we relaunched Kranch, a struggling ketchup-ranch mashup, as Heinz Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch.

3. Strategy

Rather than pushing a top-down brand message, Heinz embraced user perception. The strategy was rooted in the belief that Heinz is ketchup. By tapping into real consumer behavior and conversations, Heinz encouraged the world to speak on its behalf. This bottom-up approach built stronger emotional ties than any claim of superiority could.

4. Description

Heinz Ketchup is globally recognized for its glass bottle, iconic red label, and unmatched taste. To reignite love for the brand, we didn’t invent new meaning — we leaned into the truth: Heinz is ketchup. Over five years, we launched culturally relevant campaigns that let the world say It Has to Be Heinz for us.

Pour Perfectly: Revealed the perfect 31° pour angle by tilting the label, boosting engagement both online and in-store.

Heinz Puzzle: During COVID-19 lockdowns, we released a 570-piece all-red puzzle, creating a buzz amid somber brand messaging.

Draw Ketchup: People were asked to draw ketchup — and they all drew Heinz.

AI Ketchup: When AI services like Dall-E AI first started trending, we tapped into the cultural conversation and again asked AI to draw ketchup and it drew Heinz. Becoming the first brand to utilize AI in this way.

Hot Dog Pact: Consumers have been upset over uneven hot dog and bun packages for decades. So, we decided to put an end to it. Rallying the nation to sign a petition to end the discrepancy, and we won. Wonder Bread created even packaging.

Heinz Fraud: Restaurants fill Heinz bottles with inferior ketchup and consumers notice. So, we tapped into the conversation to get consumers to be our advocates. Creating a fresh and first of its kind business-to-business campaign.

Vintage Drip: Merch drops are everywhere. Instead of creating more clothing that contributes to landfills, we targeted Gen-z by partnering with online second hand retailers to sell high end fashion that was stained with Heinz. Proving Heinz isn’t a stain, it’s a statement.

Heinz Super Bowl LVII: Super Bowl 57 happened in 2023. 57 is the Heinz number. So, we hacked the super bowl by playing with a cultural conversation around Roman numerals, something no one understands. We simply showed that LVII = 57.

5. Outcome

As a result of our strategy to reignite brand love and Heinz iconic status, we’ve seen a +12% Global Heinz Ketchup Sales Growth compared to year-over-year numbers since 2019. Additionally Heinz has stolen +3.2 share points back from our competition. Growing market share, while competition declined. We grew Household penetration 1.7x faster than the total category. Dollar share went from 72.6% in 2019, to 74.1% in 2023. Retail sales alone saw a 47.24% increase from $578MM in 2019, to $851MM in 2023.

In 2023, Heinz achieved ‘Icon’ status by KANTAR – only 4% of all brands (food or otherwise) achieve this status, putting Heinz in an elite position within the category. After 5 years of showing, not telling consumers why It Has to Be Heinz, we saw consideration for Heinz jump +3pts, while value perception increased by +3pts.

Credits: - Brand: Kraft Heinz - Agency / Creative: Rethink - Executive Creative Director: Mike Dubrick - Creative Director: Xavier Blais, Zachary Bautista - Media: Carat Chicago, P57 - Editorial: Rethink - Music / Sound: OSO Audio, Vapor Music - PR: Middle Child Toronto

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