Toronto-based Elevator Communications just wrapped a Facebook contest for Sabra Canada, which makes hummus with savoury toppings.
The contest gave hummus fans an opportunity to create their own recipe for hummus toppings that can be stirred in. Consumers were invited to enter their recipes on the company’s Facebook page for the chance to be crowned Sabra Canada’s Stir It Up Star.
The contest closed Sept. 20 and is now being judged by a panel that includes the Toronto’s Star’s Vicky Sanderson, who created her own hummus topping (Zesty Basil Pickle) for the campaign. The top five entries will be posted on the Facebook page, where friends will be encouraged to vote for their favourite hummus creation until Oct. 14. In addition to being named Canada’s Stir It Up Star, the winner will receive a year’s supply of Sabra dips and be featured in a video, where they will prepare their winning recipe.
The agency is already looking to enhance the campaign for next year. “We’ve got plans to roll out a new version of this contest next year with more of a local spin,” said Melanie Rego, president of Elevator Communications. “For example, we’ll be asking regions from Calgary to Halifax to come up with a local angle with the whole local movement being so top of mind. We envision Calgarians submitting recipes with beef jerky toppers or the Haligonians with lobster roe.”
Elevator was hired by Sabra three years ago to build the brand in Canada. “The first couple years, [the goal] was establishing a baseline, meaning getting key influencers and Canadians across the country to understand what Sabra hummus is and how it’s different from other brands,” said Rego.
In 2012, Sabra Canada launched the Food Truck Tour, a sampling tour that had been running in the U.S. Tens of thousands of hummus samples were given to people in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. The food truck hit the road again this past summer, and Rego said the company has given out more than half a million samples to date.
On the key influencer front, Elevator has worked with editors, reporters and bloggers to educate them about Sabra hummus and get them to spread the word. The agency has also built Sabra’s social channels (Facebook and Twitter) in Canada.
