Kraft Heinz is to launch a new £10.6m media campaign from October 1, to drive category reappraisal and emotional engagement in the soup category. 

Featuring a diversity of people and occasions, united by the anticipation and intensity of the first sip, ‘Love Soup’ is the latest campaign to hit TV screens from Kraft Heinz. The 30-second TV ad features a selection of moments where people lean in, as if for a kiss, with puckered lips. As the camera closes in, it reveals that they are leaning in to enjoy their first sip of Heinz Tomato Soup. The final frame features a Heinz Tomato Soup pack shot, with the slogan ‘Love Soup. It has to be Heinz’, complete with a familiar rich tomato-red background.

The campaign will be activated across multiple channels including radio and Facebook, plus supporting social media using the hashtag #LoveSoup.

As a mature category with 76% penetration, soup experienced long-term growth until 2013/14 . With fewer shoppers buying less frequently and the strong association of eating soup when the weather is poor, the new ‘Love Soup’ campaign from Kraft Heinz aims to build an emotional connection with consumers, reminding them of their love for the product, and the fact that Heinz Soup can be enjoyed throughout the year – not just during the cold winter periods. As the brand leader in the wet ambient soup category, currently worth £293 million, Kraft Heinz aims to drive awareness of Heinz Soup’s functional benefits, such as low fat - ‘1 of your 5 a day’ and less than 250 calories per can, while also appealing to consumers’ emotional side, to ultimately increase purchase.

To drive seasonal messaging during cold winter periods, Kraft Heinz will be activating its ‘Love Soup’ campaign using a regional weather response plan.

The new ‘Love Soup’ positioning will also be present in store, through updated pack designs across the Heinz soup portfolio and stand-out shelf-ready packaging. The ‘Classic Heinz Soups’ range will benefit from clearer variety names and background colours to aid navigation, stronger and more visible claims on the front and side of pack, fresh new ingredient imagery, and back of pack story to bring the product to life. The packaging will also display calories per can, making it easier for shoppers to make an informed decision. The updated packs will also feature new shelf-ready packaging, echoing the ‘Love Soup’ campaign message and the ‘Less than 250 calories per can’ benefit.

Heinz’s wider soup range is also getting a refresh, with the ‘Black Label’ range undergoing a rebranding as ‘Heinz Soup of the Day’ and aims to drive relevancy for a younger target market. Finally, with consumers frequently looking for food items with added functional benefit, Heinz’s £23m sub-brand ‘Big Soup’ now features a front-of-pack ‘Source of Protein’ claim.

With brand new ‘Love Soup’ visuals, a full range of supporting POS material has also been developed for retailers looking to boost sales of Heinz Soup, including ‘Love Soup’ fully branded shippers, ladder racks and digital out of home outside of stores.

Shane Shortman, senior brand manager at Kraft Heinz, said: “Our fresh new campaign focuses on the anticipation and deep emotional satisfaction people get from their first sip of Heinz Soup and the warm feeling it gives them. Designed to increase brand affinity and product usage, the dedicated ‘Love Soup’ campaign will be supported across a range of platforms, to drive messaging and create an on-going dialogue with consumers.

“Love Soup will also help reposition the soup category, driving category growth through significantly increased purchase and consumption of soup across the winter period. Playing on strong emotional connections, and functional reasons to buy, the Heinz Soup campaign will drive key messaging to consumers, highlighting Heinz as the leading and most loved brand in the category .”

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