International ice cream brand Häagen-Dazs will continue its push through digital channels and key sponsorships as it looks to strengthen its local presence.
Since launching in Australia two years ago, through distributor General Mills, the brand has seen great success through local activations and social media partnerships.
General Mills social brand manager Surini Wijayasinghe tells AdNews its recent partnership deal with the Australian Open yielded great sales results for the brand, encouraging high volume sampling of the product.
"Australian Open 2018 had close to 740,000 plus consumers that walked through the doors and we sold over 100,000 units of ice cream in 14 days," Wijayasinghe says.
“Most recently we have made sure that we are at the right events and that we have the right partnerships. This year was our second year into our partnership with the Australian Open."
The majority of TV ads for Häagen-Dazs run in Australia must align with the global creative, Wijayasinghe explains, so the brand is always looking for experiential opportunities to resonate on a more local level.
She says the brand works closely with its media agency Mindshare to move away from traditional methods of marketing, placing more emphasis on digital media.
“We play across traditional methods of marketing, like TV, which are still very important to us. But really we have started expanding our non-traditional methods of marketing,” she says.
“We have started expanding our non-traditional methods of marketing. You'll see that we have had a great increase in our digital footprint. Digital in the last two years has expanded quite a bit as part of our media remit.”
Because of the impulsive nature of the product, Wijayasinghe says outdoor plays a strong role in its media planning.
Digital will remain the key medium for the brand however, as it now yields the strongest levels of engagement for the brand.
This is due the opportunity it provides Häagen-Dazs to tailor a more relevant message to its consumers, Wijayasinghe says.
“We need to make sure that our messages are well timed and well placed with the right level of communication that enables them to understand the role the brand can play in their lives," she says.
“It is a really big part of our plan, we are definitely backing this brand and it is delivering. Our consumers are responding well to the messaging we are putting forward.”
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