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Yer man Tayto’s on top again, Ireland: a crispy case study

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image source: Wikipedia

With a name like Sullivan, count on me to kick things off with a case study from the Emerald Isle.

Founded in the 1950s, Tayto (a division of Largo Foods) is a top Irish crisp manufacturer (that’s potato chip to you, mate!) with the lovable Mr. Tayto as brand mascot. A veritable cultural icon, Mr. Tayto has his own autobiography and even made an appearance as a fake candidate in the 2007 Irish elections with a number of write in votes to his credit, no less. Needless to say, after more than 60 years on the market, it was time to spruce up Mr. Tayto’s image. Cue Ray Swan and the good people at McCann Erickson Dublin, Mindshare and Boondoggle, who came together to create a multichannel marketing and PR campaign that made mouths water:

Objectives:

1. Develop a campaign that allows the audience to engage with the brand
2. Make Mr. Tayto relevant again

Results:

1. An increase in sales of nearly 1 million extra packets of Tayto crisps
2. 90 000 hits on Bebo and Facebook
3. Tayto regained the title of Number 1 crisp in Ireland

How did they do it? Check out this entertaining case study video posted by McCann on YouTube, as well as the campaign website and “Mr. Tayto – Guess who’s looking for love?” and “Mr Tayto – Clothes make the man” videos. You can also get campaign partner Mindshare’s take on the Tayto triumph through their own online case study.

For the curious among you, know that Tayto crisps come in the following mouth watering flavours: Cheese & Onion, Salt & Vinegar, Smokey Bacon, Ready Salted, Prawn Cocktail (!), and Tex Mex.

After you’ve … dare I say it …  digested this case of Taytos, have fun watching this stand-up routine by Irish comedian Dara O’Briain and get a bit of a sense of what a cultural phenomenon the Tayto really is on the “udder” side of the pond.

Enjoy!
Michelle