Willow Tree Poultry FarmInsight: Willow Tree began as a small poultry farm in Attleboro, Massachusetts. It grew quickly, contributing to the local economy with its production of fresh poultry and eggs. The Company continued to succeed and flourish – offering an egg and broiler-producing farm and featuring a neighborhood retail outlet and door-to-door egg business.
Solution: Litos Advertising and Design – Willow Tree’s advertising firm – hired North Star Marketing to work with them to develop a viral campaign that would resonate with the public and the media. The product was great. In fact, once someone tried the chicken salad, they were hooked. Our team just needed to attract people to be willing to try it. We knew we needed a campaign that people just had to talk about, and as a result the “Clucking Campaign” was born.
We defined “Cluck” as the act of being selected to sample delicious premium white meat Willow Tree chicken salad or pie. Then the fun began. We developed t-shirts, hats, pins and stickers that allowed people to “announce” they had been clucked! You could only get these products if you sampled Willow Tree chicken salad or pies.
Results: During the course of the Campaign that first summer, Willow Tree noticed a marked increase of over 15 percent in sales – and visibility. People became familiar with and excited about the Company. They began asking for products by name at the supermarket and corner deli, and additional supermarkets started carrying the product. The Clucking Campaign received coverage in several media outlets throughout the area, including Boston’s Chronicle TV, the Boston Herald, The Griffin Report, and The Providence Business News, expanding the Company’s reach even further than anticipated. We expanded the Campaign to include Western MA the following year. Willow Tree’s chicken pie business currently reaches the entire New England area and its All White Meat Chicken Salad is carried by hundreds of New England retailers, including supermarket chains and restaurants. |
Action: To effectively expand into the Boston market, Willow Tree needed to get its chicken salad into people’s hands while simultaneously raising awareness of their brand. The Company knew that the best way to win loyal customers was to give people a taste. The challenge was finding a way to do it that was fun and engaging. Willow Tree advertised in traditional venues like radio and print, but its sampling campaign needed to take on a more grassroots approach.
To further create buzz, our team created a campaign mascot, Willy T. The larger-than-life yellow chicken was responsible for clucking consumers and a Cluck Truck was completely branded for the Campaign. Willy T and his Cluck Truck (aka – the North Star team) delivered fresh chicken salad to a variety of venues in the Boston area – from events, to fire stations, to City Hall, to office buildings to radio stations – all summer long. Several radio and TV stations were served fresh chicken salad by Willy T himself. As part of the Campaign, Willow Tree created a microsite IGotClucked.com where people could view their pictures taken with Willy T and participate in activities to win free prizes. 