The ‘Heinz Verified’ campaign by Nectar First won Gold in B2B Media and Gold in B2B Partnership or Collaboration at The Drum Awards. It tackled the challenges faced by independent restaurants in reaching and engaging with operators, leveraging consumer demand to flip the traditional B2B model and spotlighting restaurants serving Heinz products through a verification badge.
In today’s competitive landscape, it is harder than ever for restaurants to succeed. Independent restaurant operators—the backbone of local dining—are facing unprecedented challenges like inflation, sustaining new and existing customer traffic, and razor-thin margins. As a longtime partner to restaurants nationwide, Kraft Heinz Away From Home is on a mission to help restaurants succeed so that communities can thrive. Supporting these operators aligned with our values, traditional B2B marketing efforts faced two obstacles:
The insight came from consumers themselves: 88% of consumers agree, it has to be Heinz when dining Away From Home. And in December 2024, that sentiment grew even stronger—with 84% saying they would like or love a restaurant more if it served Heinz. Yet independent restaurants, who are deeply invested in delivering on what their consumers want, had no easy way to signal that quality to diners. The idea: flip the traditional model by harnessing consumer demand as the driver for operator adoption.
Big Idea: Introduce Heinz Verified—a mark of excellence akin to a social media verification badge. Heinz Verified is designed to single out restaurants that serve Heinz, signaling a restaurant’s commitment to quality and excellence. Restaurants serving Heinz products earn the badge and gain access to valuable resources designed to help their businesses succeed, including insights and consumer trends, free product samples, traffic driving promotions, branded merchandise, digital resources, and free marketing support designed to drive customer traffic. But what truly sets Heinz Verified apart is its ability to spotlight operators and elevate their in-restaurant experience. Through local media and foodie influencer activations, the program drives discovery and builds community buzz around participating locations—creating a pull for consumers and transforming restaurants into destination spots, with Heinz at the heart of the story. By leveraging the “irrational love” people have for Heinz and providing operators with high visibility and resources, Heinz Verified turns a transactional relationship into a transformational partnership.
Advertisement
Media Execution: We pioneered a B2C2B media model, using consumer-facing demand to pull in restaurant operators. The hero medium was a first-ever partnership with Uber Eats, allowing us to speak directly to independent operators at scale through Uber’s database, driving them to sign up for Heinz Verified. Uber acted as our B2B lead-generation platform enabling precise outreach, attribution, and conversion tracking—making it a first for both the food category and Uber Eats.
One medium reinforced the other. Consumer buzz increased operator curiosity, while operator adoption increased consumer touchpoints. Coordination with creative and media partners was critical: integrating Uber’s CRM capabilities, influencer content, and promotions into a seamless brand experience required close alignment. Measuring B2B impact via consumer platforms was another hurdle, overcome through GeoLift’s sales attribution model.
Innovation:
Every innovation served a strategic purpose—each solution was carefully designed to overcome the critical challenges of reaching, measuring, and engaging independent operators.
Results:
Footnotes:
Ready to get your work recognized on a global stage? Enter The Drum Awards today. Need more inspiration? Read our Award Winning Case Studies.
Nectar First
Hi, we're Nectar. We sweeten relationships between brands, platforms, and audiences. Nectar First is an In-House Media and Ad-Tech Agency. We help brands get closer...