SellCheck Recognizes Top Brand Activations of 2021
SellCheck recently announced the winners of its second Best of SellCheck Awards, which honors clients who represented the best behavioral science-based creative and physical and digital brand executions from 2021.
Similar to its inaugural awards ceremony, finalists and SellCheck "Opti" award winners were recognized during a virtual Zoom ceremony held in February. They were scored based on their strength across SellCheck's "4 C's" (command, connect, convey and close), effective use of the medium, and application of shopper insights to drive conversion.
There were seven award categories. The categories were: best brand equity execution (digital and physical), new product execution, seasonal promotion (digital and physical), competitive trial or switch, new look/brand refresh, event or price promotion, and impulse or new usage occasion. The Opti winners included:
Kraft-Heinz’s Ore-Ida cooler shelf talker for Best Brand Equity Physical Execution: “This ad does some powerful things so simply,” Lynn Neal, chief product officer at SellCheck, said during the ceremony. “[It recognized that Ore-Ida’s] purchase barrier is a lack of visibility since the freezer cases cause repetition blindness. This shelf talker serves as a signpost for the entire frozen fry category with Ore-Ida crinkle cut as the hero. A quick look down the aisle lets the shopper know exactly what to expect in this freezer case. The larger-than-life crinkle visual provides taste appeal, and the sign delivers on some key taste characteristics when the shopper approaches the sign.
PepsiCo’s bubly portfolio digital ad for Best Brand Equity Execution Digital Execution: “First, the ad delivers a bold command element (the two moving cans) that also help the viewer connect to the brand and category,” Neal said. “A ‘This Fizz runs in the family” message sets up the idea that bubly has a portfolio of flavors … though it’s important to note that the brand did not try to feature all of the individual flavors, [which] would have diluted the impact of the message rather than enhancing it.”
Peet’s Coffee Co.’s “Freshness You Can Check” digital ad forBest Competitive Trial or Switch: “One of the key approaches to driving a competitive switch is to cause the shopper to question their current, habitual choice,” said Neal. “Peet’s hones in on its differentiated freshness claim and takes an effective, high road with the claim ‘Freshness You can Check.’ The brand utilizes social proof (more than 5,000 ratings averaging 4.5 stars) so the viewer knows many others have made the Peet’s choice and can vouch for the product.”
Mondelez International’s “Bake with Oreo This Hari Raya” in-store display for Best Impulse or New Usage Occasion: “The display leverages strong equity cues with a twist,” said Neal. “First, it’s obviously Oreo, even from afar — a great use of equity color and the unmissable Oreo cookie itself. … The food visuals set up taste appeal without overcrowding any single panel — commendable restraint by the team to show distinct food visuals on each panel without crowding in multiple recipes. The QR code is accessible on each side and it’s placement, overlapping the food imagery, cognitively suggests ‘use this for recipes’ even before the shopper reads the copy.”
Nabisco’s “Snack Together, Win Together” Olympics display for Best SeasonalPhysical Execution:
“Multi-brand displays are challenging,” Neal said. “Nabisco makes a very effective choice by associating snacking together with winning together. The use of the Olympic talent is particularly effective on several fronts: near life-size scale, instant association with the Olympics, and importantly, the Olympians are actually enjoying the snacks. Not only does this make the idea of snacking on Nabisco products more directly connected (and convincing) with supporting our winning Olympians, it also leverages the concept of mirroring — we are more likely to do what we see others doing. In this case, eating Nabisco snacks.”
