The Challenge

Being a new product in a major retail chain can be an interesting obstacle to maneuver. Receiving a test run from a big-box retail chain was exciting until Botticelli found themselves in the midst of a limited store test, saturated in a sea of premium priced products, and with a limited budget. Failure was not an option.

Botticelli came to J+H with this very challenge. They just received an opportunity to launch their brand in 630 Walmart stores scattered across the country. Botticelli is a premium-priced, authentic farm-to-table pasta sauce that had to compete against market leaders like Rao’s, Classico, and Barilla to reach a 30,000-unit sales per week goal.

The Strategy

Market positioning was the first challenge. So, J+H developed a commercial that showcased Botticelli as the only authentic Italian pasta sauce made in Italy, from only real, fresh ingredients. This increased the prestige and novelty of the product, leading to a higher perceived value, worthy of the premium price.

To maximize the media budget, J+H launched an omnichannel digital media strategy, geo-targeting around the 630 Walmart stores, focusing on high volume Walmart shoppers that bought jarred pasta sauce products. The strategy leveraged Connected TV to prospect the target audience and reach them in-home where they use the product to increase the effectiveness of the message. J+H then layered online display and video retargeting campaigns to ensure there was enough frequency to stay in the forefront of the shoppers’ minds during their next shopping trip.

The Result

J+H pushed sales to over 102,000 units during the month-long campaign and reached 35,000 units sold in the final week of the program!