Birds Eye’s 'Our Chicken Shop is Always Open’ campaign won Gold in CPGFMCG at The Drum Awards for Marketing, leveraging social media, influencer partnerships, and experiential marketing to reposition the brand as Gen Z’s go-to “fakeaway” choice.
Birds Eye's Chicken Shop range launched in 2018 to capitalize on the growing "fakeaway" trend, providing at-home alternatives inspired by quick-service restaurants. Seven years later, Birds Eye identified untapped potential for growth in this sub-brand amid a changed landscape shaped by the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis.
With over 150 million at-home chicken meal occasions and 75% of consumers eating out less due to economic pressures, Birds Eye set about positioning its Chicken Shop range as the perfect solution – offering restaurant-quality taste in a more affordable and convenient format.
Target Audience & Objective: Our core audience was Gen Z and younger millennials, who were increasingly drawn to fast-food brands but under-represented in the frozen food category. Over two-thirds of under-45s consume chicken meals at home, representing a significant opportunity.
We aimed to reposition Birds Eye Chicken Shop as Gen Z's go-to "fakeaway" choice, driving trial and awareness while establishing a fresh brand identity. This strategy would support the rollout of vibrant new packaging and seven new products inspired by quick-service chicken restaurants.
Our guiding platform – "Our Chicken Shop is Always Open" – underpinned every aspect of the campaign, communicating the brand's 24/7 accessibility and positioning it as the solution for spontaneous cravings.
Our strategic content framework was based on four key pillars:
We needed to meet Gen Z where they were – predominantly on social media – with content that spoke their language. We prioritized authentic voices who genuinely connected with the brand while creating tangible experiences that would generate excitement and media coverage.
Visual Identity Transformation: In October, we introduced a striking new visual identity across product packaging, extending the design cues to our website and social channels. The vibrant orange color palette, edgy graphics, and bold typography created a distinct personality that clearly differentiated, but respected, the traditional Birds Eye brand, injecting energy that resonated with our Gen Z audience.
During the two-month campaign period (October-November), Birds Eye's social channels underwent a complete makeover reflecting this new identity. We prioritized authenticity, humor, and trend relevance, actively engaging with followers, running merchandise competitions, and showcasing user-generated content to foster community.
The visual identity extended beyond digital into physical retail. In partnership with Tesco, we established permanent branded bays in 300 stores featuring our new identity and the campaign message, creating impactful touchpoints for younger shoppers.
We contracted six diverse influencers to form our "Cluck Collective," ensuring a mix of voices, audiences, and content styles aligned with our target demographic. Prioritizing genuine brand affinity, our creative briefs stipulated key messages but allowed for creative freedom, ensuring authenticity. This genuine brand affinity saw a number of our influencers share content outside their contractual obligations, creating more buzz and driving engagement.
The Cluck Collective's content was integrated into Birds Eye's social feed, creating a steady stream of engaging posts. Combining macro and micro-influencers allowed us to reach broad audiences while engaging niche communities.
Our content embraced platform-specific trends and formats. A standout example was the "Wing Doorbell" video, which featured singer and former Love Island star Wes Nelson playfully imitating the Ring Doorbell app for a Chicken Shop delivery and garnered over 7,300 organic views.
We became the first FMCG brand to sponsor LED billboards in EAFC25 in the UK (and the first in frozen worldwide) reaching a huge monthly audience of 4.1 million players (in Ultimate Team mode) and complemented this with partnerships with eight top-tier UK gaming influencers including Chuffster, Stokes, and Shawrey. These influencers hosted interactive challenges that encouraged active participation from followers on Twitch and YouTube.
Each content piece featured creative overlays and in-game rewards to drive audience involvement through live chat and challenges. We amplified this content by sharing bite-sized moments on TikTok, generating additional buzz around the campaign.
Getting products into hands was a key element of our strategy. By creating tangible brand experiences, we could generate excitement and give media, influencers, and consumers a taste of the Chicken Shop world.
We transformed a central London venue into a vibrant Chicken Shop restaurant, complete with branded merchandise, interactive games, a live performance by Wes Nelson, and product sampling. The event attracted 132 media representatives and influencers, generating significant buzz and providing an authentic brand experience that served over 2,500 samples during the two-day takeover.
Beyond consumer engagement, we prioritized retailer relationships with our branded food truck tour. The truck visited Asda and Tesco headquarters to serve samples and build stakeholder confidence in the new range. The truck served over 850 samples and received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
We developed a tailored media outreach strategy targeting national, consumer, and broadcast outlets. We crafted engaging narratives around the campaign, highlighting the unique aspects of the Cluck Collective, the pop-up event, and the Chicken Shop range.
We also used our talent to help tell our story to the media. Wes Nelson attended the event, adding talkability among consumers and media appeal. We offered key titles the chance to speak to Wes about his genuine love of the range and, more broadly, his relationship with food to add authenticity to media content.
Commercial Success: The campaign delivered impressive business results:
Digital Impact: Our digital strategy exceeded all KPIs:
Influencer Performance: The Cluck Collective delivered exceptional results:
Media Coverage: The campaign generated extensive media attention:
Brand Perception: Most importantly, the campaign shifted perceptions of the Birds Eye Chicken Shop range:
The "Our Chicken Shop is Always Open" campaign successfully repositioned Birds Eye as a modern, relevant brand in the "fakeaway" market, engaging Gen Z through authentic content, innovative experiences, and strategic partnerships that delivered tangible business results.
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