Online and Social media added to success Chip Week

Following the 22nd annual Chip Week Potato Council can count national press coverage, industry-wide involvement and over 35,000 nominations in the ‘Choice Chip Awards’ as highlights of its success.

A high profile awareness campaign ensured Chip Week appeared across all news outlets;print, broadcast, online and social media channels. This included several items in The Sun and articles in the Daily Star, The Express, The Guardian, The Mirror, Hello! and on ITV.com.

In addition, mentions on BBC Radio’s 1 and 2 and Channel 5 The Wright Stuff and a flurry of Twitter posts meant Chip Week 2013 reached an extensive audience.

This year also saw record levels of partnership activity undertaken by retailers and retail and foodservice brands. Chip Week promotions, competitions and key messages were shared by Red Tractor, McCain, 3663, KFF (Kent Frozen Food), Harry Ramsden’s, Holland Pies, Spam and Batchelors (Peas), among others.

Potato merchants and growers across the country also helped to recruit shops by delivering promotional material with orders.

For chip shops and independent pubs and restaurants, the Choice Chip Awards generated much excitement along with regional PR. Over 35,000 customers voted for their favourite chips, from some 550 participating outlets, but it was Lincoln’s Burton Road Chippy and The Crown in Henlow, Berkshire who were named as having the nation’s choicest chips.

A main focus of Chip Week was centred on research, commissioned by Potato Council, which revealed unique insight into the purchasing habits, satisfaction levels and the perceived areas of opportunity for fish and chip shops. This provided valuable insight to support shops not only during Chip Week but throughout the year.

The research identified a number of areas in which chip shops can develop marketing activity to drive sales, enabling them to compete more effectively against increasing pressure from alternative takeaways and the rise of ‘voucher’ deals.

Potato Council marketing manager, Kate Cox, said: “Chip Week is not only a fun event;it serves as an important platform for everyone involved in the supply chain to drive awareness and sales.

“We’re still reviewing the full results but initial feedback suggests the 2013 campaign was a real success. Traditional media remains important;however, messages shared online and through social media are becoming increasingly significant to reach a wide audience. We achieved some great results, with recipes and features on popular sites www.bbcgoodfood.com, www.femalefirst.co.uk, www.reveal.co.uk and www.handbag.com as well as high visibility across Twitter and Facebook.

“The increase in partnership activity has enabled us to extend the reach of our messages. This has been a growing part of the strategy to ensure that Chip Week continues to drive better value back to the industry. The support garnered shows that it remains a high profile and important campaign.”

Source: Potato Council