Wednesday 3rd May 2017
Sweet Success of Social
• >1.86 billion
active monthly
Facebook users
• 54.2% of users
only access the
site from their
mobile phones
• 600m active
monthly users
• Nearly twice as
big as Twitter
• Engagement is
up to 50x higher
than Twitter*
• Approx. 150
million users
(60% female 40%
male)
• 50% of users are
outside of US
• 313m active
users
• 82% of active
Twitter users
access it via
mobile
Setting the social media scene - today
Source: https://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/; https://about.twitter.com/company;
https://www.omnicoreagency.com/pinterest-statistics/;
https://www.statista.com/statistics/253577/number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/
Lily O’Brien’s and The Wonderland: A Success Story
THE GROUND
WORK
TESTING AND
LEARNING
THE ROLL OUT
THE IMPACT
Are you ready to hear about our story?
Helping to build Lily O’Brien’s social media:
THE GROUND WORK
The key difference between Thorntons and Lily O’Brien’s is, that Thorntons has many stores. Lily’s have none in
the UK and rely on internet and supermarket distribution.
Our learnings in eCommerce, chocolate and the gifting industry in general
started with Thorntons
ONLINE
LEARNING
• Prize draws drive data capture
• Data capture is the way to convert
visitors to purchases
• Member-get-member works (with a
good audience size)
• Chocolate incentive is always
successful
• Customers shop with their eyes
• Incentivise upsells
• Offer unique products
• We learnt how to drive
traffic from store to online,
and vice versa. From prize,
draws, offers, freebies
and MGM campaigns
IN-STORE
LEARNING
SOCIAL
LEARNINGS
• Lead people to your page
• Engage with your
audience
• Social-only activity
(Advent Calendar,
integrated application)
• Integrate social into other
campaigns
• Turn posts into
discussion topics
When The Wonderland and Lily O’Brien’s paths crossed in 2011, Lily’s asked us to help improve their digital
performance in Ireland and then in turn the UK. And improve it, we did.
Our approach to Lily O’Brien’s goals
Social growth
Data capture
Sales
• Facebook activation
• Twitter start
• Blog expansion
• Pinterest start
• Instagram start
• Social advertising
• ‘Monetise’ social channels
• Prize draws
• Data capture campaigns
• Using micro sites
• Seasonal campaigns
• AYR
• Creating new seasons
• Recurring campaigns
• Website improvements
• NPD ideas (Advent)
*We also knew we needed to be clever during key revenue driving seasons, such as Christmas
Our social media strategy was simple: To grow its following on social channels
• Twitter was not a focus due to
budget and resource
• At the time (early 2012),
Instagram and Pinterest were
tiny compared to Facebook, but
this was a visual product so these
were great platforms to explore
Growth would be generated by engaging with followers in different ways, such as with content,
campaigns, competitions and interaction.
The give-aways and treats started our…
FIRST TEST, AND LEARNINGS
Season AYR: 2012
Our first Facebook prize draw was aimed at increasing likes, and registrations on the back of it.
CUSTOMER JOURNEY:
• 50 box choc give-away
• Attractive prize: iPad 2
• Prize draw page embedded into FB
• Database logged opt ins
• MGM encouraged via iPad prize
PROMOTION:
• Facebook posts and ads
• Website banners
• Launch email and banners
RESULTS:
• 79% opt-ins
• Database increase: 44%
Season Easter: 2013
In 2013 we ramped up activity on Facebook. The Easter Egg hunt campaign was a success.
CUSTOMER JOURNEY:
• 2 part promotion
• Data capture to win an iPad Mini in FB tab
• Click to landing page for design comp
• Data captured across both prize draw and competition
• Attractive prize: iPad mini
PROMOTION:
• Facebook posts and ads
• Website
• Launch email and banners
• Advertising on ‘The big Egg hunt Dublin’ FB page
RESULTS:
• 72% opt-ins
• Database increase: 35%
Season Christmas: 2013
Facebook was used to drive traffic to the website and gain more data.
CUSTOMER JOURNEY:
• Focus was driving consumers to the website
• Facebook used as an advertising mechanic for the
website
• The carrot was the instant win prize ‘daily’
• Extra bonus: a purchase-driven, overall prize at the
end of the Christmas period
PROMOTION:
• Facebook posts, banners and ads
• Website
• Launch email and banners
RESULTS:
• 66% opt-ins
• Database increase: 59%
• Sales increase: 22% YOY
In 2014/2015…
THE OBJECTIVES CHANGED!
Lily O’Brien’s received venture capital funding, and the focus changed towards
the UK
MARKET INFO:
• Chocolate market continues to grow
• Despite the decline in snacking, on-
the-go chocolate is growing ahead
of the market
• This manifested itself in sharing
pouches and bitesize formats
• Premium market under pressure
from standard and own label
alternatives
OBJECTIVES:
• Increase brand awareness
• Grow distribution penetration
• Grow online sales (there one big shop)
• Increase NPD
When we did a survey we found out that Lily O’Brien’s’ customers are very
engaged with the brand, and very passionate about chocolate.
5,347 CUSTOMERS COMPLETED THE SURVEY
1. Methodology: Facebook/Email survey (2014)
2. Responders were, not surprisingly, mainly female, Customers are
more likely to self-treat than give to another
3. Two-thirds give chocolate ‘often’
4. Customers care about quality when buying for others, taste when
self-treating
5. Nearly half eat chocolate a few times a week, some even in bed!
6. The favourites: Milk chocolate, caramel, honeycomb and nuts
We used these insights to create ideas that work.
Season AYR: 2014
The social media MGM campaign was a hit, showing the value of the activity and sampling.
CUSTOMER JOURNEY:
• FB centric; open to everyone; again, no “like” gate
• Win one of 1k boxes
• Recommend a friend; friend has to sign up to enter
• First 1,000 to enter
• Winners found out at the end
PROMOTION:
• FB banners and adverts
• Emails
• Homepage banners
• In store POS
• Inbox leaflets
RESULTS:
• 72% opt-ins
• Database increase: 55%
Season Christmas: The format that worked
This double competition was so successful in 2013 that we ran it again in 2014 and 2015.
CUSTOMER JOURNEY:
• Focus: To drive consumers to the website
• Facebook: Used as an advertising mechanic for the website
• The carrot: The instant win prize ‘daily’
• Extra bonus: A purchase-driven, overall prize at the end of
the Christmas period
PROMOTION:
• 8 weeks
• Facebook posts, banners and ads
• Website
• Launch email and banners
RESULTS:
• Database increase
• Black Friday sales increase:
• Sales increase
*Audience
participation
this year
increased by
over 700% YOY
Thorntons
PR activity Chocolate Box Touring UK and Ireland:
In 2016/2017
WE STEPPED ACTIVITY
UP A GEAR!
We took all learnings and stepped up a gear, with brand-focused activity and
better integration with other channels. More budget was made available
BRAND, ON-PAGE, SOCIAL
REACH AND ENGAGEMENT:
• Video recipes
• Boomerang images
• On page activity and draws
• More liking and on-page chats
• Brand advertising
SALES LED ACTIVITY:
• Traffic driving (advertised on FB/social)
• Data capture
• Sales generation
• Tracking links
• Web promotions and exclusives
*Out of
season
campaigns are
key! TEST
AND LEARN!
We introduced more variety in content, especially on the blog. We also upped
our game on social media with awesome community management.
WHAT WE HAVE DONE:
• Infographics to share. Aims: build links, create more
brand awareness.
• Topics: Guides to the ultimate party; planning
weddings; local events throughout key seasons.
• Consumers: Increase involvement by taking part in
surveys and questionnaires.
• Community:
– Shorten response time, resolving any issues the
same day.
– Monitoring social media platforms during the day,
evenings and weekends, including bank holidays
and Christmas. Yep it has to be done!
• Interaction: We like all comments, shares and posts;
we encourage followers to respond back to us.
RESULTS:
• Many positive comments, reviews
and feedback from customers who
are thrilled with their customer
experience
• Fans post to page and share their
content
• Positive brand impact leading to
WoM recommendations
So how much did we…ROCK AT
SOCIAL MEDIA?…in 2016
Our Facebook impact was substantial, considering little budget was put into advertising and
boosting posts. So using 2016 as a benchmark…
650KOrganic reach Oct to Christmas
400Korganic reach of the
2016 Christmas
campaign
1.1MTotal organic reach in 2016
1.2M with paid advertising included
27.5KThe highest ever
organic reach for a
non-prize draw post
49K
The highest ever
organic reach for a
prize draw post
6.48%The organic rate of
engagement in 2016;
13.71% with
advertising
• 5.3k+ new likes
• 37.5k+ reactions
• 428 content items
• 4.2k+ direct messages
received and resolved
• Customer service out
of hoursAverage reach for
an advertised post
2016 Twitter, Instagram and blog impact. With advertising and outreach we can add
a lot more value in these channels.
Luxury chocolate
bar launch coverage
21KProfile visits
Blog page views.
Since 2012, 200 blog
posts have been
written
410kThe organic reach on
Twitter in 2016;
9.5KMentions
• Trended on Twitter with our
own hashtag (#LOBBarLaunch)
• Double engagement rate
• We generated hype!
2.3%Ave. engagement
(mentions only)
351Instagram posts,
1.9Kfollowers
2.5KNew followers
The combined effect of all social activities drives increased awareness for the Lily O’Brien’s brand.
SOCIAL AT THE CORE
OF THE STRATEGY
2017: out of season activity, brand and more
testing
Exquisite Prize Draw: Photography
All
photography,
props and
editing was
done in-house
So….
IN SUMMARY!
Thorntons
Facebook Growth: 2011 - 2017
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
90000Nov-11
Feb-12
May-12
Aug-12
Nov-12
Feb-13
May-13
Aug-13
Nov-13
Feb-14
May-14
Aug-14
Nov-14
Feb-15
May-15
Aug-15
Nov-15
Feb-16
May-16
Aug-16
Nov-16
Feb-17
*This includes
advertising
for likes
Facebook growth shows the rise in “likes” between November 2011 and March 2017 – we
continue to grow and have a loyal following. We had lots of learnings to get to here
Do you have…
ANY QUESTIONS?
WE LOVE VIDEOS
Infographics are still very popular.
Post boosting is worthwhile for
infographics in view of the large
increase in views
INFOGRAPHICS ROCK!
Videos have achieved the highest
engagement of all non-prize draw
content
© All content and ideas within this presentation are copyright of the ‘In the Wonderland Ltd.’
THANKS FOR LISTENING!