We recently hosted our first official Stickybeak event, bringing together customers, partners, and fellow marketers for a delicious live demonstration and panel exploring the triumphs and challenges of FMCG marketing.
We kicked off with a cooking demonstration from ‘New Zealand’s most famous private chef’ Hercules Noble, best known for his “Will it sourdough?” baking series on Instagram and TikTok. He created some unique recipes for us featuring our customers' top products - Graze Skinny Dipped Almonds and Peanuts, Talbot Forest Cumin Gouda + Dairyworks Italian Blend, and Hubbards granola (yes–all in sourdough!)
But it wasn’t all chowing down delicious fare; Hercules also gave us some valuable insights about how FMCG marketers can work more effectively with content creators, such as how to make content feel authentic and the merits/drawbacks of trend-based content (expect a full post on this soon!)
In the second half of the evening, we got up close and personal with three of our customers about their journey with Stickybeak, and how consumer testing has transformed their approach to marketing and rebranding:
Sarah Gurnsey - Marketing Manager at Grin Natural Products
“We’re a challenger brand. We wanted to make sure we could create that cut through on shelf.”
An upstart within the highly traditional oral care category, Grin wanted to showcase itself as a brand for Kiwis at every stage of life. With the aisle dominated by red and blue branding, Marketing Manager Sarah Gurnsey knew they needed to think outside the box to create a brand that stood out on the shelf.
“Oral care is really generational, so testing with our friends and family was a massive echo chamber.” Says Sarah Gurnsey. “We really needed to branch out, so we’ve utilised Stickybeak to test across Australia and New Zealand and talk to our audience.”
Being able to test bold ideas in a risk-free setting helped Grin gain a strong sense of direction and understand what appealed to their customers. The result? A standout shade of teal for their packaging that blows away everything else on the shelf!
Maja Szarmach - Head of Marketing and Innovation at Dairyworks
“We needed to prove our direction.”
Boasting a huge product portfolio that includes Alpine and Rolling Meadow, staying nimble and objective during NPD is extremely important for Dairyworks. Full of ideas but with a small marketing budget, rebrands were too high-risk and costly for the team to execute.
“Personal bias is a big problem in NPD, so we needed a way to prove concepts quickly, cost-effectively, and objectively.” Says Maja Szarmach. “Getting internal stakeholders on board was absolutely key to getting our brand refresh off the ground.”
With Stickybeak’s help, it took Dairyworks just 48 hours to set up testing for a full packaging refresh, and 4 days to get feedback from 200-300 participants. The strong validation they received helped to de-risk the entire rebrand process. The biggest win? Dairyworks now has 3 more brand refresh projects on the docket over the next 12 months!
Kylie Tipene - Marketing Manager at James Crisp
“Test your guess. You can actually test it and see what it’s like.”
Selling FMCG goods directly to the consumer opens up some lucrative sales opportunities. But first, marketers need answers to some big questions–namely, what sorts of offers consumers will find appealing.
Marketers are good at making educated guesses. But being able to test your guesses with your audience in real-time gives you confidence that your next campaign idea is the right one.
“Knowing what offers are going to boost sales was really crucial for big events like Black Friday.” Says Kylie Tipene. “Being able to work with fellow marketers via Stickybeak meant we could actually test our best guesses before committing.”
All up, it was a wonderful event that brought together an amazing group of people, some incredible products, and best-in-class marketing expertise across FMCG. Watch this space for more exciting happenings in the future!
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The butter recipes you've been asking for!
Or should we say ingredients list!
Cocoa Butter
- Cacao powder
- Raspberry powder
- Cacao nibs
- Icing sugar
- Butter
- Salt
Pesto Butter
- Butter
- Pesto
- Crushed basil
- Grated cheese
- Lemon juice
Coffee Butter
- Butter
- Instant coffee granules
- Icing sugar
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