Event Marketer and MRD December 2021 - 136

BEST SINGLE-MARKET
EVENT (CONSUMER)
EX WINNER
CLIENT: MegaMex Foods
CAMPAIGN: Herdez Salsa Boston
Sampling
AGENCY: Havas Street
Like Tupac Shakur and checkerboard Vans, Mexican
salsa maker Herdez was known as a West Coast thang.
But the MegaMex Foods-owned brand wanted to gain
traction in East Coast markets where consumers were
familiar with Mexican cuisine, but not its brand name.
Education, engagement and, of course, sampling were
all on the itinerary. And when COVID surfaced, creating
a nimble activation framework that allowed the brand
to evolve its approach along with changing health and
safety regulations was also placed at the top of the
priority list. So Herdez fired up a branded food truck and
an agile, nine-week sampling strategy in Boston, where
it's visions for East Coast expansion got a mouthwatering
start.
As safety protocols shifted across the multi-week
program, Herdez adapted its sampling strategy from
bottle drops to meal kits to prepared meals, working
closely with vendor partners to make changes on the
fly. To capitalize on the fact that many consumers
were spending more time at home cooking during the
pandemic, Herdez kicked things off with the door-todoor
bottle drops that served as surprise and delight
moments in local Boston neighborhoods. To alleviate
COVID concerns, samples (full-size bottles of Herdez's
green salsa) were packaged in branded, sealed plastic
bags, and came with a free sticker. The drops also
arrived with a recipe card featuring popular dishes
made using the salsa, helping to educate recipients on
the product's primary use as a cooking ingredient, not a
tortilla chip companion.
Next, given the timing of its activations, Herdez
wanted to give back to the hospital employees and
first responders on the front lines of the pandemic.
So as the Boston-area market began to open up, the
brand worked with a local catering company to create
meal kits that included the salsa, a recipe card and the
ingredients needed to make the meal, from fresh-cut
produce to tortillas to other items in the MegaMex
lineup, and distributed them to local hospitals and
businesses where frontline workers could be found.
For the final step of the strategy, Herdez once again
enlisted the help of a local catering company, this time
to create fully-prepared meals that incorporated Herdez
salsa. The meals were delivered to local businesses and
hospitals. Then, at the tail-end of its localized sampling
run, Herdez identified an opportunity to sample at a
Boston House of Blues concert by providing attendees
with tableside appetizers. Parked right outside the
doors of the venue, Herdez's truck with its neon
lights provided unexpected ambiance for the socially
distanced diners outdoors, and brand ambassadors
manning the vehicle dropped bottles and care packages
to surprise and delight the patrons.
The campaign's final results were caliente. Herdez
produced 56 activations, distributed more than
50,000 samples and earned praise from local police,
firefighters, hospital workers and everyday consumers.
136 EVENT MARKETER DECEMBER 2021
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Event Marketer and MRD December 2021

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