The Brief

‘The One and Only’ Chocomel, a premium chocolate milk drink made famous in the Netherlands was ‘officially’ launched in the UK in 2022. 

In its low lying homeland of clogs and tulips, Chocomel is a household brand, but in the UK there’s only a select few who’ve discovered it on holidays in Europe or in exotic corner shops.

Our task was to drive awareness and penetration of Chocomel in the UK, whilst also maintaining the brand’s distinctive, premium visual identity and quality taste cues, built up over years in the Netherlands; making them as famous in the UK in the process.

Approach - Stage 1

We knew that Chocomel fans were a rare breed in the UK, with only a few lucky ones being aware of and being able to track down the chocolate milk drink in select outlets. What we didn’t realise was the length that people were going to get their fix. Prior to the brand’s official UK launch, consumers were resorting to all sorts of means to smuggle the product into the country such as ordering their own bulk palettes; true dedication!

Inspired by some of the superfans’ stories on social media which revealed their ingenuity and hunger for the brand, we built on their passion to create the core campaign idea; ‘Sharing not required’.

‘Sharing not required’ is based around the insight that ever since we learned to walk, sharing is drummed into us as a virtue; but the resistance we feel towards it never really goes away. When eating out, the dessert course almost demands the phrase “would you like to try some?”, but who really wants to share their triple salted caramel whipped chocolate fondant with Chantilly cream? Well, the superfans felt the same way about Chocomel: when something is this good, do we really have to share it??

‘Sharing not required’ encouraged adults to not only to keep Chocomel for themselves, but also carve out some time to really enjoy the luxurious experience. 

Given this idea was borne out of stories shared on social, that’s where we opted to kick things off, devising an influencer and digital campaign which went live as stage one of the launch. 

We selected a broad mix of micro, mid tier and hero influencers from a range of categories including lifestyle, interior design and parenting. Our brief to them was simple – show us the lengths you’ll go to keep Chocomel for yourself, to create a moment of self-care or indulgence.

The resulting content, from influencers such as Lydia Bright (TOWIE), was original, inspiring, sometimes hilarious and above all, putting Chocomel firmly on the UK map.

Having quality content by the bucket-load enabled us to reuse it for a super cut which was rolled out on YouTube pre-rolls, bumpers and mastheads. With the influencers front and centre, the paid media campaign was given a truly authentic feel.

To complement the social activity and increase frequency, we also created a series of DOOH ad executions under the same campaign umbrella, which ran across some of the UK’s most premium outdoor locations. And not wanting to miss an opportunity to sweat the assets, we also created an animated version for YouTube. 

The ads drove the brand’s fame and premium credentials even further, showcasing the perfect serve and flowing chocolate milk alongside some eye-catching and slightly irreverent headline copy – ‘There’s no ‘we’ in Chocomel, but there is a ‘me’, ran among others.

Approach - Stage 2

The success of the first stage of the launch laid the seed for the second stage: a TVC which grew out of the influencer content, taking inspiration from some of the most liked and engaged with, influencer reels.

The TVC spot follows the story of three Chocomel lovers and the antics they get up to in order to enjoy their moment of unadulterated, chocolate milk bliss, alone. The scenarios featured in the ad include locking yourself in the bathroom, waiting until your partner’s left for work and hiding in the utility room while your children are looking for you.  

In sum, the social, influencer, digital and DOOH campaign had a true TTL feel, all inspired by socially driven insight. We showed how a social-first approach can be executed at scale, and that sometimes it’s ok, not to share.

Results

Results from the first stage are still being collected, but we do know the influencer content alone reached an audience of 4.5m organically.

The TVC airs on April 14th and runs until June, alongside a comprehensive in-store POS campaign.