2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

In 2019, Heinz launched Kranch – a ketchup-ranch mashup. Despite the world’s love for ketchup and ranch, sales suffered and it was at risk of being discontinued.

The Washington Post labeled it “..the latest condiment mash-up we didn't need,” and in 2023, it became one of the worst-performing sauces in the Heinz portfolio.

To unlock the sales potential of this struggling sauce, they needed to reach a new audience of Gen Zs to drive cultural relevancy, generate an explosive earned conversation and drive sales.

To make Kranch relevant to a new audience the agency needed to create conversations, but they didn’t have new news about the product. So the strategy was to hijack a cultural moment to transform Kranch into a sought-after sensation.

In September 2023, Taylor Swift’s romance with NFL player Travis Kelce took over the internet. Swifties became enthralled with every aspect of their relationship, down to the snacks Taylor ate while watching Kelce at her first NFL game. When one Twitter account shared a photo of Taylor at the game with the caption “Taylor Swift was eating a piece of chicken with ketchup and seemingly ranch!” it exploded.

The agency knew tons of brands would try to take advantage of this moment, but recognized that only one truly belonged in this ketchup-ranch
conversation: Heinz Kranch.

And they knew that 56% of Swifties – the most dedicated fan base in popular culture – are millennials or Gen Zs, making this the perfect opportunity to reach this group.

Kraft Heinz had the perfect opportunity to give Kranch its long-overdue moment. And while countless brands responded to this viral moment with reactive social posts, they took it further. They did what no other brand could: rebranding and relaunching a product in real-time.

Within 24 hours of the viral Taylor Swift post, they re-released Kranch, with a new name and label: Heinz Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch.

The agency began by announcing the arrival of this new limited-edition sauce on social. Within 48 hours they launched a full campaign including OOH in NYC subways and Times Square.

They even got their bottles to tailgates at that week’s NY Jets vs. Chiefs game, where Taylor Swift was again in attendance. In conjunction with the launch of social posts, widespread media outreach kicked off to spread the word to top-tier media.

The sauce quickly became a must-have for Swifties. They took to social to post their reactions and generated huge volumes of UGC – some even going as far as selling embroidered sweaters featuring their new favourite condiment – representing an unprecedented level of engagement for Kranch.

They continued to follow the story – literally – bringing Heinz Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch bottles straight to Chiefs games with Swift in attendance where it naturally became a tailgate staple, and continued to post about it along the way – featuring Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch on the ground at Chiefs games.

As the campaign continued to trend, Walmart reached out to order Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch for national distribution, and they also took to their social channels to promote this exciting new arrival.

This turned the underperforming sauce into a must-have for the world's biggest, most dedicated fanbase.

The campaign generated over 6.1B earned impressions – the highest ever for Kraft-Heinz – receiving coverage from TMZ, The Today Show, Stephen Colbert, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN. Heinz was mentioned in 63% of articles covering Taylor and Travis’ relationship, and across over 2,200 placements, the campaign received 99% positive/neutral sentiment.

Swifties scooped up the first run of LTO bottles almost immediately, and the launch post garnered an engagement rate 690% above benchmarks, creating an explosive conversation online.

When Walmart.com added “Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch” for sale nationally, sales rose 320%. In fact, there was 5x the sales growth of Heinz iconic ketchup. In the end, they turned Kranch from a failure into the must-have item for the most devoted fan base in the world, seemingly overnight.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman, Mike Dubrick, Daniel Lobatón
Chief Strategy Officer: Sean McDonald
Executive Creative Director: Xavier Blais
Creative Director: Zachary Bautista, Geoff Baillie, Sean O'Connor
Writer: Thom Peters, Geoff Baillie
Art Director: Zachary Bautista, Steve Miller, Mustaali Raj
Designer: Mustaali Raj
Strategist: Julian Morgan, Emma Bayfield
Director of Integrated Content: AJ Merrick
Producer: Venus Pun, Kate A. Spencer, Terri Winter
Studio: Todd Bennett, Kostas Loukopoulos
Group Business Lead: Adam Ball
Group Account Director: Rob Dix
Account Director: David Greisman
Account Supervisor: Rachel Cloth, Jessie Durand
Account Manager: Bhumika Baweja
Tabletop Photographer: Nick Greaves
Content Photographer/Cinematographer: Denis Gutiérrez-Ogrinc
Production Co.: FUZE Reps
Line Producer: Kate A. Spencer
Media: Starcom
PR: Zeno Group
EVP, Head of Integrated Communications: Missy Maher
EVP Media: Courtney Pischke
VP: Alysa Winkler
Senior Account Supervisor: Bethany Roth
Account Supervisor Media: Veronica Smith
Senior Account Executive: Nicolette Stern
Account Executive: Lulu Saias

Client:
Vice President, Global Heinz Brand: Nina Patel
Head of Global Heinz Brand Communications and Creativity: Megan Lang
Senior Brand Manager, Brand Communications and Creativity, Global Heinz: Jacqueline Chao
Associate Brand Manager: Navjit Dhillon