Stranger Things campaign pays off for Baskin-Robbins

Baskin-Robbins' Stranger Things campaign
Baskin-Robbins’ Stranger Things campaign

A partnership with Netflix has reaped rewards for Baskin-Robbins Australia as its digital winter 2019 campaign helped launch season 3 of the streaming giant’s most popular show, the sci-fi horror series, Stranger Things.

The campaign achieved 5.2 million digital impressions, 55,000 social media engagements
and 151,000 complete YouTube views.

A supporting Instagram campaign also helped increase Baskin-Robbins’ market share from 29 per cent to 45 per cent among 13–24 year olds.

BR Australia national marketing manager, Julian Casa, said the digital campaign was
successful in reaching a new demographic for the ice-cream franchise, the Gen Z and millennial consumer.

“Our usual core segment was not a natural fit for this campaign, with sci-fi horror series more
of interest to teens and young adults. As such, we applied an edgier, more youth-orientated
approach across our product range, creative and channel selection in order to appeal to
Stranger Things’ fans,” Casa said.

The award-winning winter 2019 campaign involved a limited edition Stranger Things menu, sold physically
instore at Baskin-Robbins locations and through a world-first ‘Scoops Ahoy’ virtual restaurant (an
homage to the name of the ice cream parlour in the series), with ice cream delivered by
Uber Eats.

Baskin-Robbins created a digital experience inspired by key plot points from the show, including
the theme of code-breaking. A microsite was developed to allow fans to hunt for hidden
codes online and on limited edition products for the chance to win a trip to the Stranger
Things set in Atlanta, Georgia, US.

 

 

Drawing a link between watching Netflix and having Baskin-Robbins delivered supported the
campaign’s success and drove a significant increase in home delivery sales over the three
month campaign period.

Ben Flintoff, BR Australia GM, said“When BR Australia partnered with Netflix and Stranger Things, we thought we had all the ingredients for a successful campaign, and it turned out we were right.

“The campaign was one of the most innovative and ambitious concepts BR Australia has
activated; from the immersive digital experience, augmented reality content, to the virtual
restaurant, all of course complemented by a limited edition range of premium desserts.

“We’re proud of our campaign’s success and we feel it really shows how BR Australia can
use digital technology to grow market share, while delivering innovative, category leading,
immersive experiences for guests of all ages.”