India, 2024
The Belgian Waffle Co, India’s largest waffle brand celebrated the National Waffle Day, an initiative they introduced to India a few years ago. And, year on year the event has been getting enormous responses from all the waffle enthusiasts in the country, leaving them in a state of bliss and indulgence. This year the excitement reached another high, leading to lakhs of fans queuing up at the brand’s 570+ stores PAN India on 19th July.
With delectable waffles offered at just Rs 100 on this day, which happens just once a year for the brand, the National Waffle Day on July 19th is the day waffle fans keenly await every year. The campaign theme of #EveryoneKnows, conceptualised by the agency SoCheers, capitalised on the huge popularity of the event, especially among its young target audience. It hit an instant chord with those who knew about the event and also cleverly created FOMO amongst those who were yet to discover it. This year’s campaign saw some remarkable marketing strategies that had everyone talk about it and appreciate it across social platforms.
The well-planned rollout of the campaign commenced when the internet saw a young fan mentioning 19th July as The National Waffle Day among historic events in an answer paper during a school exam, which had meme pages creating fun content around. Riding on this, the campaign skilfully generated buzz across digital platforms through famous influencers who tried promoting the campaign but couldn’t because everyone already knew about it. The relatability of the content made it viral with 6M+ views achieved in less than 24 hours.
As the campaign gained momentum, the brand utilised its packaging smartly and gave away a fake INR 100 note with every Zomato & Swiggy order, reminding them about the offer of ‘Any waffle at Rs 100’. This creative tactic was well-received and had consumers and marketing enthusiasts appreciating this on social platforms like Instagram & LinkedIn. The brand also utilised one of their last year’s viral CGI video that had a pilot-less helicopter soaring the skies, promoting the National Waffle Day offer. The ‘missing’ pilot was seen skydiving with an offer placard in a fun video this year. This was further supported by an interesting collaboration with a recently famous Spotify ad voice-over personality, who promoted the offer in her playful style.
As the day approached closer, the campaign saw multiple levers establishing the importance of the day and the irresistible offer through eye-catching billboards and bus shelters across key cities like Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Kolkata etc. One of their digital hoardings on WEH in Mumbai had the brand giving ‘GOOD NEWS ON 19Th July’ playing right after the ‘Bad Newz’ movie promotion which happened to release on the same day as the event. This was a great example of Moment Marketing done right! The brand’s employees further joined the bandwagon in promoting the most important day by posting their pictures with creative and fun placards on their LinkedIn profiles.
And, all of this, resulted in a humongous success for the brand with the campaign reach and engagement hitting a 100M+ mark and lakhs of the brand’s fans queuing up outside their stores despite heavy rainfall in many cities. The day witnessed over 5 lakh footfall in a single day across the brand’s 570+ stores in PAN India, resulting in an astonishing surge in their business.
Ankit Patel, Executive Director and CEO of The Belgian Waffle Co, shared his joy, stating, ‘The National Waffle Day is not just a day; it’s an emotion for us and our consumers alike. Over the years, the event has only gotten bigger and better; this year it soared to another high. It reflects the brand’s commitment to customer delight and showcases our ability to deliver a superior product experience at scale. The cutting-edge marketing campaign, meticulous planning, and operational prowess made the event what it was. The National Waffle Day is a testament to the brand’s ability to create genuine experiences, beyond product.’
Vrushali Parab, Marketing Head at The Belgian Waffle Co, shared her thoughts on the success of the campaign, stating ‘Over the years we have realised that The National Waffle Day is a phenomenon among our GenZ target group and the task of making it bigger year-on-year is daunting. The campaign theme of #Everyoneknows was a true reflection of our consumer voice, which helped us carve a multi-faced campaign strategy that resonated with our fans. Innovation, creativity, and an intuitive understanding of consumer preferences made the campaign a massive success, exceeding all expectations. Witnessing the digital-first campaign seamlessly driving huge tangible footfall at stores is a true campaign achievement.’
