Brief:
- Unilever’s virtual store The Ice Cream Store on Tuesday released the “Ice Cream Exchange” in partnership with “The Workplace” starlet Angela Kinsey, per a business news release.
- Customers who check out IceCreamExchange.com and get in a description of a disappointing holiday present will see a video of Kinsey and get a coupon code that can be utilized on Uber Eats, Postmates, or DoorDash by means of sellers consisting of 7-Eleven, Walgreens, and The Ice Cream Shop that is good towards the purchase of Unilever’s ice cream brands like Talenti, Magnum and Ben & & Jerry’s.
- The Ice Cream Exchange could enhance Unilever’s numerous brand names by partnering with popular shipment apps that may see increased usage this winter season during the pandemic and while bringing individuals together online as they share about their bad gift experiences.
Insight:
Unilever’s project is an innovative method to encourage individuals to order ice cream for delivery, specifically amidst the cooler winter season and the continuing pandemic that likely will keep customers housebound for a foreseeable couple of months. In a year when holiday traditions are being upended by the health crisis, the Unilever effort takes a playful technique to resolving disappointing presents– something the majority of people can associate with– like “an obvious re-gift or scratchy sweater,” according to a journalism release.
While hinging on partnerships with several sellers and shipment apps, the project might be a benefit for The Ice Cream Store, Unilever’s ghost kitchen-like virtual shop that utilizes freezers in places like gas stations and convenience shops and is readily available in over 1,500 areas across the U.S. For Unilever, at-home ice cream sales have been an intense spot as the pandemic continues to change customer habits around dining and snacking.
Orders through The Ice Cream Store also produce first-party data about consumers, which has increasingly become a concern for CPG brand names in the middle of more stringent consumer privacy laws and constraints around audience tracking. Brand names including Kraft Heinz’s Planters and Mondelez International’s Sour Spot Kids have opened online stores to build one-to-one relationships with customers while gathering information that can be used to customize or target marketing efforts.
To drive additional interest in the “Ice Cream Exchange” site, Unilever has teamed with a crucial character of “The Workplace.” The CPG is the most recent online marketer to tap into continued interest around the program, which went off the air in 2013 but has stayed popular on streaming services. Heineken in 2019 employed Kinsey and actor Brian Baumgartner to star in a new project promoting an alcohol-free beer called Heineken 0.0, while Phyllis Smith has tattooed handle craft retailer Joann and restaurant chain Panera for “Workplace”- associated efforts.
