Tasked with reinventing one of the oldest pretzel bakeries in the country, kglobal helped create the entire brand communications platform for H.K. Anderson Pretzel’s new line of better-for-you snacks, its first branded product after 120+ years of private label manufacturing. Recognizing the increased demand for healthy snacks, the team developed a platform called “Trade Up to Healthier Snacking” and invited families to trade in their chips for a better snack alternative: all-natural pretzels. To add credibility to the message, the team formed a partnership with Pop Warner Little Scholars, encouraging youth football and cheer students to stay active and involved in their local communities.
Given the crowded snack market, the team knew it needed something else to cut through the clutter: a mascot. On April 26, 2011—National Pretzel Day—“H.K.” was born, a seven-foot tall pretzel man boasting his own blog, Twitter handle and Facebook page and the star of a series of viral webisodes. HK, supported by his entourage, began to travel the country, sampling pretzels at events in Pittsburgh, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., enjoying appearances at numerous Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Penguins games as well.
H.K.’s brand recognition skyrocketed as a result of these efforts, both online and in local markets, despite limited distribution. In addition to distributing 50,000 samples in 2011 alone, and $10,000 in scholarship donations distributed to student athletes nationwide, Facebook fans spiked by 40% between April 1 and May 5 around National Pretzel Day, with our initial pretzel giveaway leading to 10,000 new Facebook fans in two hours. In all, fans increased to more than 23,500, interactions increased by 55% from 2010, and the @HKPretzel corporate Twitter handle launched and gained 266 followers in one month alone.