Richmond, part of Pilgrim’s Food Masters, is investing £1.1million in a new 360-degree marketing campaign to drive awareness and trial of its Meat-Free range. The campaign is running throughout January to coincide with Veganuary, a key period for encouraging consumers to try meat-free products, and spans digital out-of-home, VOD and social media adverts.
The campaign is currently running across 921 billboards and digital screens across the nation, as well as VOD, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Marking Richmond’s first foray into digital out-of-home advertising, the digital-first strategy has been developed to target Richmond’s key audiences and aims to deliver 41 million impressions, reaching an estimated 13.7 million people.
Leveraging the trust and popularity of the Richmond brand, the campaign looks to reassure shoppers trying meat-free for the first time, telling shoppers to “Relax, it’s Richmond.” The insight-based campaign, developed with Saatchi & Saatchi and dentsu X, positions Richmond as the ‘gateway’ brand for the meat-free category; a recognised name that consumers can trust. “Relax, it’s Richmond,” is a nod to the brand’s reputation for making great-tasting products, in both meat and meat-free; Richmond’s Meat-Free sausages have been crowned the Nation’s Favourite meat-free sausage.
Richmond is the number one brand for recruiting shoppers into the category and is leading the way in driving engagement. Since its expansion into the meat-free category in 2019, Richmond has grown to become the third biggest player in meat-free sales.
The campaign is built on the insight that consumers want to make the switch from meat but are not confident meat-free products will taste as good as their meaty counterparts. To challenge this perception, Richmond is putting mouth-watering imagery of family favourites front and centre, providing shoppers with inspiration and confidence to switch to meat-free options when cooking their favourite family meals. What’s more, the brand is bringing this to life through engaging content and partnerships on social media, to show consumers how easy it is to make meat-free swaps.
Targeted social adverts leverage close-ups of delicious lasagne and burger imagery with voice overs echoing the insight consumers are worried that meat-free products may not be as tasty as meat options. Richmond is also collaborating with popular social media influencer Sevda on TikTok and Instagram to bring meat-free recipe inspiration to her 1.2 million followers.
The exciting campaign, which showcases the taste and texture of Richmond’s Meat-Free range, paves the way for the launch of the brand’s new and improved Meat-Free Mince recipe.
Chris Doe, marketing controller at Pilgrim’s Food Masters, said: “We’re putting our Meat-Free range centre stage for this fully integrated 360-degree campaign, because we truly believe that the products taste fantastic and because we know that Richmond plays a crucial role in recruiting customers into the category. The significant investment in this food-first campaign is evidence of our belief in the range; we want to encourage even more shoppers to try meat-free this year and trust that it can taste great!
“We’re so proud the Richmond name holds a lot of trust with consumers; our reputation is built from delivering great-tasting products, after all, we are the nation’s favourite. Now, we want to use this platform to reassure consumers that meat-free can be as delicious as meat! But most importantly, we want people to know that when they see the Richmond brand on the packet, they can relax because they will love the product – even if they’ve never tried meat-free before.”
Richard Huntington, CSO at Saatchi & Saatchi said: “Right now meat-free is a super sexy category, with an explosion of brands and choices. But for families who haven’t tried meat-free before, there’s a risk of ending up with food that no one will eat. But if those meat-free burgers, or mince and more are from Richmond, makers of the nation’s favourite sausages, you know you can relax.”
Jolene Timlin, account director at dentsu X, said: “Richmond’s target audience are a very social and active group who spend significant time consuming out-of-home and social media. Through understanding this, we were able to connect directly with our audience; the campaign is set to deliver a whopping 41 million impacts, reaching an estimated 13.7 million people. Through clever use of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, we have been able to connect with consumers in touchpoints where they are open to brands using engaging short video content. This media strategy will most certainly ensure that consumers now see Richmond as the mainstream meat-free brand of choice.”
