Challenge

While U.S. consumers are increasingly embracing a plant-based lifestyle – U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods grew 6.2% over a record year of growth in 2020 – Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) recognized a need for increased research and advocacy driving the plant-based industry forward. In 2022, PBFA launched a sister organization, the Plant Based Foods Institute (PBFI), to complement PBFA’s work by driving a plant-based food system transition through policy and business strategies. PBFA asked SchroderHaus to gain awareness of the launch of PBFI with earning trade and business media coverage in the lead up to the Plant Based Foods Expo, an annual gathering of plant-based leaders, organizations and brands.

Solution

To raise awareness for and engagement with PBFA’s new sister organization, SchroderHaus created and executed a media engagement plan that utilized the timeliness of the Plant Based World Expo and included the development and distribution of a press release celebrating the launch of the new organization. Additionally, the team thoughtfully developed a list of key trade and business media chosen based on their consistent coverage of the plant-based foods industry or PBFA member brands. The team leveraged the CEO of PBFA and PBFI, Rachel Dreskin, as a spokesperson, as well as key details about PBFI, including organizational focus areas and select PBFI board members from leading plant-based foods companies to emphasize the credibility of the new organization.

Results

By implementing this trade and business media strategy, as well as leveraging notable industry experts, team SchroderHaus generated the following results:

• Surpassed the trade media coverage goal of two interviews or coverage opportunities with a total of three interviews, 11 pieces of coverage and one digital newsletter mention
• Coverage ran in a combination of trade and business media including outlets like Vox, Food Dive and Vegconomist, with a total potential reach of 12,136,500

Challenge

Many cocoa farmers work an entire day for $0.78-1.00 (World Economic Forum) due to the unjust realities of the global food market, which is significantly below the poverty line. Add to that, farmers are battling inflation, rising production costs, the climate crisis and COVID-19 related challenges while the price they earn for cocoa hasn’t risen at all, even as the global cocoa and chocolate industry hits $48+ billion annually (Fortune Business Insights). With that in mind, Fairtrade America (FTA), the U.S. chapter of Fairtrade International, tasked SchroderHaus with helping Americans understand that by making a simple choice, like purchasing a Fairtrade certified chocolate bar, they can vote with their dollars to change a broken trade system and help farmers earn a fairer deal.

Solution

Through the ‘It’s Only Fair’ campaign, SchroderHaus worked to make the global issue of smallholder farmer poverty a localized problem by disrupting people’s routines (scrolling on social) with the question, “How long would you work for $0.85?” Through three short, comedic videos, the team demonstrated just how little work Americans would be willing to do for $0.85- like a haircut. The ‘It’s Only Fair’ campaign launched on World Chocolate Day, July 7, and utilized the videos in organic and paid social, media relations, paid and earned influencer engagement, Fairtrade certified brand licensee toolkits and newsletter content.

Results

By implementing this social media strategy, team SchroderHaus met or exceeded all KPI’s with the following results:

• 1,108,632 social media impressions for campaign content
• 541,192 potential reach of video shares by Fairtrade licensees
• 18% engagement rate on Instagram social content
• Paid influencer content saw 3-6% engagement rates and a 992,200 total potential reach
• Fairtrade America saw a 20% increase in awareness and 15% increase in trust in their biennial Globescan consumer insights study

Challenge

Fairtrade America (FTA) is the U.S. chapter representing Fairtrade International, the original and global leader in fair trade certification. In 2022, the organization challenged SchroderHaus with growing consumer awareness of FTA by at least 10%, increasing trust in the Fairtrade mark by double-digits and encouraging U.S. shoppers to purchase more Fairtrade certified products.

Solution

To gain awareness for Fairtrade and educate target consumers on its mission, the SchroderHaus team developed and implemented the third annual “Choose Fairtrade. Choose the world you want.”, a campaign created by the agency in 2020 as the organization hoped to connect with consumers during COVID. In its third iteration, the fully integrated awareness campaign included the incorporation of murals in three new U.S. markets during October Fair Trade Month featuring real Fairtrade farmers. In the first two years, the campaign brought inspiring murals to Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville and Tacoma. By creating three new murals, FTA would continue to leverage the impact of mural art to inspire conversations about social justice issues and create visibility of Fairtrade. Mural creative, thoughtful storytelling and retail and Fairtrade certified brand (e.g. Tony’s Chocolonely and Organic India) details would help extend the campaign’s reach from coast to coast through compelling digital and influencer activations, retail promotions, licensee engagement, and trade and local media outreach.

Results

With a combined fee and hard cost budget of only $160k, this integrated consumer campaign generated the following results:

• Contributed to an increase in consumer awareness of the Fairtrade Mark from 41% to 61% from 2021 to 2023
• Contributed to an increase in consumer trust of the Mark from 57% to 72%
• Contributed to a rise in the number of U.S. shoppers who claimed to purchase Fairtrade products from 23% to 25%
  13,400+ FTA newsletter sign ups
• Nearly 14,000 website visits from social media
• A total potential reach of 841,500k and a near 5% engagement rate from influencer content
• 23 trade and local news stories
• 1.07MM impressions from social media with CPMs at $1.54 for awareness objective and $0.27 for newsletter objective

Challenge

Competition is fierce in the world of dairy-free ice cream offerings, so it is challenging for emerging brands to differentiate themselves, and particularly hard for small brands to grab the spotlight amongst big, established players. O’MY Dairy Free Gelato, started and led by two women who have extensive experience in the CPG space, had a goal to build awareness along with distribution growth, through mainstream, online consumer coverage.

 

Solution

SchroderHaus leveraged existing media relationships to get samples in the hands of top tier consumer media outlets. For O’MY, tasting is believing, as it is a truly delicious, creamy gelato that tastes like…gelato…when many other products taste like the specific type of plant-based milk used in the formula. SH also touted the new product launches, two that were lower in sugar, which was a perfect fit within the consumers’ desire for less sugar in their diet. This was solely a media relations program.

 

Results

• SchroderHaus secured coverage around a key drive time for the brand, achieving our goal of five national placements during ice cream season – seasonality DOES matter!
• ~4 million impressions overall, with 3.7 million impressions hitting during the key summer drive time
• ~240 million in potential digital reach.
• Other metrics:
  • Seven stories featured a visual
  • Six stories included a mention or link for where to buy
  • Five hits included a link to the website

Challenge

Telling the founder story following investment from a PE firm and new leadership is a challenge. This story has been told many times, so it needs a unique twist to be successful. Founder Cynthia Tice is unique in that she recognized when it was time for a bigger team and more resources behind her brand, and with it, came a desire to tell her story to further build the business story behind the Lily’s brand.

 

Solution

SchroderHaus engaged with the Lily’s founder and leadership through messaging and media training sessions to hone in on the strongest story angles. In order to reach a broad variety of audiences and provide various formats for Cynthia to tell her story, SH conducted outreach to business, trade and podcast outlets, as well as organizations for speaking opportunities.

 

Results

Spanning 2019 and 2020, SH achieved our goals for Cynthia’s Thought Leadership, across several different outlets.

• Feature stories: SchroderHaus secured multiple feature stories for Cynthia, including Entrepreneur, Medium, Thrive Global and more.
• Podcast interviews: Cynthia enjoyed podcast interviews with Courageous Wellness and NexxtLevel.
• Speaking engagements: The Naturally Boulder “Clean Label” panel, as well as a panel at Expo East achieved our goal for speaking opportunities.

Challenge

As better-for-you snacking continues to gain traction with health-minded consumers, competition is fierce for space in grocery baskets. With a limited marketing budget, the Sejoyia team needed to rely heavily on earned media coverage and influencer endorsements of its new crispy, thin cookies – Coco-Thins – to drive awareness and sales with its millennial target.

 

Solution

SchroderHaus developed a creative mailer to celebrate the launch of the Coco-Thins, and inspire the reporters developing stories for Sejoyia’s target to cover the new offering. Following distribution of the mailer, SchroderHaus conducted targeted follow up providing each recipient customized story ideas that would include the new Coco-Thins.

 

Results

• 30 total pieces of coverage in the first-half of 2019, totalling 1.21 million potential reach
• Coverage ran in niche and tier one mainstream media outlets that reach Sejoyia target
• By targeted reporters that also fit into the Sejoyia target, the brand also benefited from larger than normal social shares of the product mailer and samples

Challenge

At the end of 2019, Fairtrade America was struggling to generate social channel growth and engagement, and questioned how social media could effectively help the organization reach consumer awareness and business development goals included in its multi-year strategic plan. SchroderHaus was tasked to assess Fairtrade’s social content strategy and recommend how best to evolve key channels to better reach the organization’s goals.

 

Solution

The team developed a comprehensive digital strategy informed by a social audit and competitive analysis of other fair trade, Non-GMO and gluten-free certifications. The predominantly organic social strategy included recommended content recommendations; revitalized feed design to bring cohesiveness to content; increased channel management and engagement; and paid support of strategic seasonal and consumer campaigns.

 

Results

• 13-20% organic engagement rate
• 104% IG channel growth from less than 5k to more than 10k, earning Fairtrade the Swipe Up function
• Surpassed LinkedIn follower growth of 4,800 in less than six months
• 15% average organic engagement rate on IG posts and 5.5% on LinkedIn posts
• 1,300+ average reach per IG post and more than 500 per LinkedIn post
• Awareness CPM less than $1
• Traffic CPC under $.50

Challenge

Fairtrade America (FTA) is the U.S. chapter representing Fairtrade International, the original and global leader in fair trade certification. While Fairtrade awareness and purchase intent in the U.S. are increasing, the organization sought to accelerate momentum in 2020, and challenged SchroderHaus to develop its first-ever integrated consumer awareness campaign to generate consumer familiarity and advocacy of the Fairtrade mark that appears on certified products, as well as educate consumers on the tangible benefits of Fairtrade for farmers and workers across the globe.

 

Solution

In lieu of in-person activations and events due to Covid quarantines, the SchroderHaus team brainstormed alternative visual tactics to capture attention, online and in person, and also analyzed past campaigns from other Fairtrade regions. The “light bulb” moment came when realizing the impact of mural art to inspire conversations about social justice issues and hope for change. The “Choose Fairtrade: Choose the World You Want,” campaign would be centered around mural art at retailers carrying Fairtrade products and in three key markets where street art is already prominent – Denver, Los Angeles and Nashville. Each mural would feature a real-life farmer within the Fairtrade system, as well as a key benefit of choosing fairtrade, e.g. gender equality and fighting poverty. The campaign’s reach would be extended nationally through digital and influencer activations, retail promotions, and local and national media outreach.

 

Results

With a combined fee and hard cost budget of only $140k, this first-ever integrated consumer campaign generated the following results:

• The campaign media coverage generated more than 240 million impressions across national, local market and trade coverage
• Nearly 10,000 consumers pledged to Choose Fairtrade via the campaign site – choosefairtrade.org – and the site saw more than 16,500 unique visitors
• Influencer content had a total potential reach of 790k and a near 10% engagement rate
• Fairtrade’s campaign content on social had an 11% engagement rate
• Paid social performed well with CPMs at $0.61 with an awareness objective and CPCs at $0.40 with a traffic objective
• Most importantly, sales were up! Participating retailers saw up to 10% growth in sales of Fairtrade certified products YoY during the month-long campaign

Challenge

February is Heart Health Month, and a key time of year when consumers are working to make good on their food, health and lifestyle intentions. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) annually uses this seasonal moment to drive awareness of its MSC Blue Fish label, and that when a product is certified it means a good choice not only for your health, but for the planet, too. At a time when media and influencers were still mostly quarantined – early 2021 – the MSC challenged SchroderHaus to produce a virtual event that would excite media and influencer interest, educate them on the benefits of the MSC, and also lead to coverage of the non-profit organization. As an added opportunity, SchroderHaus was able to tap into the talent of the recently announced first-ever U.S. ambassador for the MSC, Chef Gregory Gourdet, notable Top Chef contestant and host, as well as restaurateur.

 

Solution

Rather than produce an event from scratch, SchroderHaus partnered with the James Beard Foundation to produce a ‘Sustainable Seafood with Chef Gregory Gourdet’ event, adding credibility to the MSC’s story and tapping into JBF’s existing event promotion capabilities. The event featured Chef Gourdet straight from his very own kitchen, walking attendees through his tips on how to make two recipes featuring MSC certified seafood: Smokey Cod-Clam Chowder with Jalapeno and MSC Certified Wild-Caught Yellowfin Tuna with Avocado, Chipotle, and Hazelnuts. Additionally, the MSC’s senior PR manager was able to provide background on the MSC and answer questions on the importance of sustainable seafood and how to best look for sustainable options when at the store. SchroderHaus further enticed media and influencer interest by offering a home delivery of all necessary recipe ingredients via Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods, as well as a separate shipment of branded items from the MSC.

 

Results

• SchroderHaus secured 30 media and influencer attendees for the virtual event, and only two people did not end up tuning in
• Media and influencer mentions on social had a potential reach of more than 100,000
• SchroderHaus’ event follow up has already led to three notable stories, including a feature in the Portland Mercury touting Chef Gourdet as the MSC’s first-ever U.S. ambassador, as well as stories in the Washington Post and Mashed on the importance of sustainable seafood and how readers can look for sustainable options while shopping at their favorite store – look for the MSC Blue Fish label!

Challenge

Awareness of the Fairtrade mark and benefits is below 30% in the United States, making it difficult to make a compelling argument to brands as to why they should invest in a partnership with the supply chain partner. With a limited budget, but a vast network and richness of compelling stories to share, Fairtrade America challenged SchroderHaus to build and share stories that would earn consistent and compelling news mentions.

 

Solution

SchroderHaus developed a bi-monthly issues initiative news engine to regularly celebrate the benefits choosing Fairtrade has for people and the planet. By working closely with the Fairtrade team, we uncovered the untold stories of the organization, its farmers, studies and new programs and licensee announcements that would garner notable trade, consumer and business coverage.

 

Results

• We successfully secured at least two pieces of trade and/or business coverage for each bi-monthly issues initiative, and added coverage for key licensee announcements
• Total coverage for 2020 initiatives had a potential reach of more than 100 million and stories ran in notable outlets such as Forbes, TreeHugger, Spoon University, Confectionary News, NOSH, Delish, Progressive Grocer, and more
• The organization experienced double digit growth through licensee agreements in 2020 and we will soon know if mark and benefit awareness have grown as Fairtrade’s bi-annual Globescan results come out in May