Case Study: How The Belgian Waffle Co used fake money to celebrate National Waffle Day

The Belgian Waffle Co celebrated National Waffle Day on 19th July 2024 with their viral #EveryoneKnows campaign. By creating FOMO through the campaign to promote their offer 'Waffles at Rs.100', the brand reached out to young audiences through digital promotions, influencer marketing, and creative billboards.

This case study examines how The Belgian Waffle Co created a huge buzz, reaching over 100 million people, and driving significant footfall to their stores for National Waffle Day 2024.

Brand Introduction

Founded in 2015, The Belgian Waffle Co boasts over 570 stores in more than 190 cities, celebrated for its waffle creations and convenient 'on-the-go' consumption format. The brand's reputation rests on three distinctive pillars: being the pioneers of 'The Original Waff-wich' in India, holding the title of India's largest waffle chain, and proudly being 100% Veg, catering to a diverse audience of waffle enthusiasts.

Brief

To create impactful conversations and generate excitement around the special offer of ‘Any waffle at Rs 100’ on the National Waffle Day, on 19th July, which is offered by the brand only once a year.

Campaign Objective

To create buzz and drive physical footfall at stores for National Waffle Day, an initiative introduced by The Belgian Waffle Co to India, a few years ago. 

Challenges

Striking the right balance of offline activities and online engagements, to drive footfalls to physical stores required a well-orchestrated strategy to leverage both channels effectively. The campaign also had to solve for consumer engagement during long waiting times on the event day, as fans queued up at the store in huge numbers.  

Creative Idea

The campaign theme of #EveryoneKnows, conceptualized by SoCheers, capitalized on the huge popularity of the event, especially among its young target audience. The idea was to create a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) among those who were yet to discover the event.

Execution

The 360-degree campaign involved multiple levers, including digital promotions, influencer marketing, promotions through creative billboards, student activations etc to generate huge hype around the day and drive chatter among its TG.

The campaign rollout commenced with a viral picture of a student mentioning National Waffle Day in an exam answer paper, followed by:

• Gen Z Influencers tried to promote the offer, only to find out that #Everyoneknows already, which went viral with 6M+ views in less than 24 hours

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• The brand used packaging smartly where fun stickers and a Fake INR 100 note were given with every Zomato & Swiggy order, to remind consumers about the offer.

• Creative billboards, and bus shelters across cities like Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Kolkata and more were used to promote the offer. This involved using Moment Marketing with a digital billboard on WEH talking about ‘GOOD NEWS ON 19TH JULY’ right after ‘Bad Newz’ movie promotions, which were released on the same day. 

• Collaboration with a recently famous Spotify ad voice-over personality to promote the offer in her unique style.
• Employee engagement on LinkedIn, wherein the employees joined the bandwagon by posting their pictures with creative & fun placards, promoting the day.

• And, finally, engagement was driven through a 'Waffle Mania’ game that people could play while waiting in huge queues at stores on 19th July and also win special discounts for future use.

Results

• 100M+ digital campaign reach and engagement
• Lakhs of fans queuing up outside stores despite heavy rainfall, with over 5 lakh footfall in a single day across 570+ stores PAN India

"The National Waffle Day is not just a day; it's an emotion for us and our consumers alike. Over the years, the event has only gotten bigger and better; this year it soared to another high. It reflects the brand's commitment to customer delight and showcases our ability to deliver a superior product experience at scale", according to Ankit Patel, CEO, of The Belgian Waffle. 

"Over the years we have realised that The National Waffle Day is a phenomenon among our GenZ target group and the task of making it bigger year-on-year is daunting. The campaign theme of #Everyoneknows was a true reflection of our consumer voice, which helped us carve a multi-faced campaign strategy that resonated with our fans", added Vrushali Parab, Marketing Head at The Belgian Waffle Co.