How Greggs made its sausage roll a cultural icon

• Secure over 200 pieces of media coverage, including 30+ broadcast hits
• Drive viral engagement across social, especially among Gen Z and meme-led pages
• Become culturally pertinent, inserting the sausage roll into national and international conversation
• Spread fandom into unexpected places — from newsrooms to tourist attractions to TikTok
• Deliver a campaign that earned its way into the media cycle by being uniquely ownable, weirdly loveable, and brilliantly Greggs
• Deliver effectiveness at scale on a limited budget of £18,576, including agency fees

Strategy

Fandom is contagious — and Greggs fans are some of the most devoted out there.

We wanted to take that energy and do something no one would expect: treat the Sausage Roll like the cultural icon it already was. And what better place to do that than finding a partner like Madame Tussauds London, home to national legends and global megastars?

We chose to glorify the humble. By placing something everyday in a setting reserved for the elite, we achieved the kind of irreverent fame Greggs is known for — while inviting new audiences to see the brand in a fresh light.

And by leveraging these smart partnerships — with Madame Tussauds and its PR agency — and capitalizing on a calendar date - National Sausage Roll Day - we ensured the idea travelled further, hit harder, and landed in bigger media moments than a Greggs solo campaign ever could.

Creative Concept

In a world of overwhelming messages and overworked stunts, for this creative concept, we chose simplicity.

A waxwork sausage roll. On a velvet cushion. Interned into one of the most famous cultural attractions in the world. That’s it.

We knew that by partnering with Madame Tussauds London, we could not only bring two famous icons together in a surprising way, but also leverage the fandom around both brands, tap into each other’s media segments and also leverage the associated firepower of two marketing teams - both in-house and agency.

We gave the Sausage Roll the full red carpet treatment in a very regal setting, while keeping the tone unmistakably Greggs — accessible, charming, and not taking itself too seriously. That balance between "majestic" and "mmmh" was exactly what made it magic.

Execution

This campaign came together in just four weeks — thanks to tight coordination between Greggs, Madame Tussauds London, and their PR agency Stripe.

Hard costs included the budget required to make the sausage roll itself and the marketing around it. By making the activation mutually beneficial and fame driving for both partners, we managed to circumnavigate normal ‘sponsorship’ fees and both brands worked closely together to create the necessary assets to bring the concept to life. Madame Tussauds’ artisan waxwork sculptors provided their services at a cost rate and provided two waxworks - one for display and one to go to breakfast TV to maximize results.

Both internal and external marketing teams used their expertise to cover off widespread reach across their respective media sectors - from FMCG and food to arts, travel and leisure. All of this avoided normal campaign fees by using existing internal and agency time.

We used a research company to find out if Greggs was more popular as a waxwork than other existing waxworks, with the product coming up as preferred to the waxwork of Kier Starmer - helping drive news angles.

We maintained tight alignment with both brands' tones and values, ensuring that Greggs’ humour and accessibility meshed seamlessly with Madame Tussauds’ prestige and polish.

Finally, we tied the launch to National Sausage Roll Day to give it extra gravitas with media. Ahead of this calendar moment, we hosted a preview - inviting media, select influencers, and social news sites to see the waxwork early. Madame Tussauds comped the tickets to keep costs down. This generated an initial wave of coverage and gave us our second big bang when the official day landed - allowing us to dominate two media cycles in one neat move.

Results

This campaign didn’t just land — it saturated the media cycle with a food item that ‘humiliated’ the Prime Minister of the UK when it came to popularity.

Working efficiently to maximize reach, each PR agency took the lead on various media segments, meaning our waxwork sausage roll earned 285 pieces of coverage across national and international media, including over 30 broadcast hits on TV and radio, reaching a combined audience of 5.77 billion.

TV appearances included ITV’s Lunchtime and Evening News, GB News, CNN International, Fox Local Washington, CBS After Midnight and This Morning, giving us both daytime and primetime presence. Radio pick-up was equally punchy, from LBC, Heart, BBC Radio 2 and 4, to Capital, Smooth, BBC Scotland, and dozens more — amassing millions of ears across the UK.

We got Have I Got News For You to talk about this for over a minute.

On social, the story took off: 2.58M estimated views, 101K engagements, 460K TikTok plays, and 59+ pieces of creator content. TikTok alone delivered 13.2K shares, 50.8K likes, and a potential 6.77M follower reach — turning a pastry into a social moment.

Our average domain authority was 59, with strong coverage across top-tier sites and titles. Combined print circulation topped 1 million, adding further reach across legacy media.

In every channel, in every medium — from Nippon TV Japan to BBC Radio Orkney — the nation (and the world) toasted the sausage roll.

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