How Halo Top launched ten flavors in ten days
Ten new Halo Top pints, launched in October, the least ice-cream-friendly month of the year, with no seasonal tailwind to ride.
Scope
Crier Communications served as agency of record for public relations and social media for Halo Top, the low-calorie ice cream brand, from launch through to its being named the best-selling pint of ice cream in America. This ten-flavor launch campaign is one of many the agency ran for the brand.
Services on this campaign: media relations, influencer management, social media strategy and content, and food photography.
Challenge
Crier was charged with promoting the launch of ten new ice cream flavors in October, not a month anyone associates with ice cream.
The task was to build a campaign that could activate ice cream lovers in the off-season, without a seasonal tailwind to ride.
What we did
We turned the launch date into the campaign. Tapping Halo Top’s most loyal fans, followers, celebrity influencers and media, we teased one new flavor a day for the ten days leading up to launch on 10/10.
Each daily teaser offered a year’s supply to fans who liked and shared it, turning the countdown itself into the reach engine, and the audience into the distribution.
Results
51 pieces of coverage with an online readership of 507 million. The social campaign earned 156M impressions and a 115% total fan increase, plus over 80,000 Instagram comments and 60,000 Facebook messages.
The one everyone remembers
Coverage included the now-famous GQ feature detailing what it is like to eat nothing but Halo Top for ten days.
It is still the story people bring up when the brand comes up: earned, not bought, and impossible to brief for.
The short answers
What did Crier Communications do for Halo Top?
Crier Communications was Halo Top’s agency of record for public relations and social media, from brand launch through to Halo Top being named the best-selling pint of ice cream in America. This campaign covered the launch of ten new flavors, using media relations, influencer management, social content and food photography.
What results did the Halo Top ten-flavor launch deliver?
The campaign earned 51 pieces of media coverage with an online readership of 507 million, plus 156 million social impressions, a 115 percent increase in total fans, over 80,000 Instagram comments and 60,000 Facebook messages.
How did Crier launch ten ice cream flavors in October?
Crier turned the launch date into the campaign, teasing one new flavor a day for the ten days leading up to launch on 10/10 and offering a year’s supply of ice cream to fans who liked and shared each daily teaser, which turned the countdown itself into the reach engine.
What was the GQ Halo Top story?
Coverage included a widely shared GQ feature in which a writer ate nothing but Halo Top ice cream for ten days, which remains the story most associated with the brand.
Case studies
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Holy Grail Steak Co.
Pitched as a luxury good, not a grocery: 72 placements and 5.08B readership.
Rigoni di Asiago
A century-old Italian brand introduced to America: #1 on Time’s Nutella alternatives ranking.
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