Beyond its support, however, Lancewood® wanted to introduce a new and interactive element to the viewing experience for Ultimate Braai Master fans. Their solution came in the form of Emoji Meals – a social media tool powered by a bot that takes the Ultimate Braai Master viewing experience to a different level of delicious. Lancewood® partnered with advertising agency M&C Saatchi Abel CT to execute what was a first for the brand, and a pioneering use of emerging digital tools.
“We needed a mechanism that would allow the brand to not only engage its strong following on social media, but to also provide something entirely new and immediately relevant to this audience – at a specific touchpoint,” says Gordon Ray, executive creative director at M&C Saatchi Abel. “The combination of great content with a smart social media platform provided the perfect solution.”
By simply sending a food emoji to Lancewood®’s Facebook page via private message, the Lancewood® bot instantly responds with an interesting recipe or practical tip related to the emoji.
For example, Clarissa* sent the brand a strawberry emoji and the bot responded with a recipe for fruit cheese salad with strawberry vinaigrette – a completely different and unexpected twist on the traditional braai salad! So by harnessing the power of real-time social media engagement to provide relevant and original content to fans, Lancewood® instantly turned the Ultimate Braai Master viewing experience into a far more dynamic and engaging event.
According to Shereen Anderhold, Marketing Manager at Lancewood®, the response from the Lancewood® Facebook community has been sensational. About 2,002 unique users have already tried out the Lancewood® Emoji Meals bot, and approximately 165,715 interactions have taken place. She notes that over a million viewers have already tuned in for the second episode.
“Given that people are inundated with marketing messages on social media today, and particularly on Facebook, Lancewood® Emoji Meals allowed the brand to cut right through this clutter,” adds Ray. “For many South Africans, food is a passion – and we found a way for Lancewood® to become an integral and very tangible part of an activity that South Africans love and cherish.”
For more information on the Lancewood® Emoji Meal bot, visit the Lancewood Cheese Facebook page.
