Maxibon's innovative frozen bakery launch won gold in Experience at The Drum Awards for Marketing APAC, achieving a 124% sales uplift, leveraging immersive theatre and media partnerships to tap into Aussie bakery culture.
From the bougee to the basic, Aussie bakeries are big business with the average Aussie consuming 75.2 kg of bakery products per year, compared to NZ’s 45 kg. To launch Maxibon’s new bakery range, we needed to do something that made history.
This is a story of history in the baking with a world-first frozen bakery, Maxi-Bakery, that lifted sales 124% ahead of target in its first three weeks.
Maxibon is in its growth era, having grown from a $21M to a $54M brand in ten years. One of the main growth drivers are the new product innovations it adds every year. This year, the brand has also opened a new factory line to double its production capacity that will help drive it towards its $100M a year target in the next five years. But to achieve this goal, they need 1M more Australian households to buy Maxibon. So, the clever people at Peters Ice Cream have been baking up a plan; The Bakery Range.
The humble bakery is baked into Aussie culture. Remember visiting the bakery after school to smash a finger bun? And I'll bet no road trip is complete without a pit stop to a local bakery claiming their vanilla slice is the No.1 in Australia. And as a nation, we have our own food eccentricities; think fairy bread, snag sandwich, and Tim Tam Slam. To tap into that cultural viewpoint, Maxibon’s new range is inspired by two Aussie bakery classics: Vanilla Slice and Hedgehog Slice.
Our WireTapping insights for growth process uncovered some truths about Aussie bakery culture:
“This is history in the baking! So, let’s launch the bakery inspired range in a born different way.”
The main goal of our campaign was to drive awareness towards trial of the two new products amongst the Maxi Tribe and Maxi families. Our job, using the brand’s Born Different platform, was to develop an oven-fresh activation idea, supported by a full comms strategy, that tapped into Aussie bakery culture to launch this product. To assist, we also had 10,000 Maxibons to give away.
To achieve their goal of getting 1M households to buy Maxibon, we needed to focus on the core segments; The Maxibon Tribe and Maxi-Families.
Let’s talk about The Maxi Tribe. They’re a loyal and vocal crew of young Aussies who aren’t afraid to break the rules and get a little wild with their mates. They’re extroverts who are up for anything, especially if it means they get to hang out with their mates and make a piss funny story. Our tribe fit the typical Aussie ‘bloke’ paradigm yet continue to break the mould in new and surprising ways. They celebrate the weird, the random, and the offbeat. If there’s one bloke that epitomises the brand, it’s that mate in the group who makes you say, “not again!”
To help bake history with this launch, we set about Wiretapping a cultural truth. Our research led us to a report by Live Nation which showed that the craving for 'In Real Life' (IRL) experiences is pronounced, with 92.3% of Gen Z expressing a desire for such interactions - 58.8% of which dedicate significant time and energy to finding it. And the retro and authentic world of Aussie bakeries is an IRL experience like no other.
Our Wiretapping insight posed the strategic thought; what if we took Aussie bakery culture and created a world-first immersive experience, much like going to see a show or concert?
A hole-in-the-wall immersive theatre experience built around a frozen bakery.
Meet the Maxi-Bakery; the world’s first frozen bakery that’s as humble as any Aussie bakery, yet as in your face as going to see a concert or show. The catch, it’s only open for three days!
Inspired by the concept of Italian Wine Windows, the Maxi-Bakery was entered by opening an unsuspecting freezer door placed on one of Sydney’s busiest streets. As you peered through the small hole, you were greeted by an actor turned humble baker ready to take you deep into Maxibon’s frozen bakery. What followed was a 30-second immersive performance like no other, with four shouting bakers making your Maxibon to order. We crafted all the ingredients of an Aussie bakery to ensure everyone’s senses were activated. Roaring ovens. Dough being made fresh. The aroma of freshly baked goods. And all the colourful language and chaos you’d expect from a busy hot, yet frozen, bakery.
We had hot targets to meet, so we needed to bake-up a storm with our comms strategy. Our integrated channels combined press office, influencer collaborations, media partnerships, and sampling kits to successfully reach millions of households. Theatrical storytelling in our press release and pitches helped drive foot traffic to the ‘world-first’ event, while 50 top-tier media and influencers received personalised mini Maxi-bakery exclusive invite kits, complete with product and a signature bakery scent.
To turn the heat from awareness to consideration, we enlisted influencers from our Tribe audience to create theatrical style content in the lead-up and on-site, helping amplify the conversation and attendance among our Maxi Tribe. And to turn the heat up, we partnered with Bondi Lines and The Betoota Advocate, two of Australia’s top publications for news and events, to get more eyes on the story.
We went viral on social media: