If you can remember the excitement of running downstairs to find presents under the Christmas tree, the joy of winning a championship game, the thrill of sneaking multiple free samples of your favorite snack…you start to understand the magical madness of National Wetzel Day. This very special holiday is at the core of our client Wetzel’s Pretzels’ marketing calendar, but it’s also at the core of the their brand identity. That’s why we pulled out all the stops to execute our most successful social media marketing campaign ever, with unmatched Instagram follower growth strategies, tailored influencer marketing collabs, playful video content, and implementation of innovative social platform tools.

33.6% increase in Instagram followers
207%  increase in Facebook impressions

In less than a month, we earned Wetzel’s a 33.6% increase in IG followers (with over 2.6k added in 3 days), a 207% year-over-year increase in Facebook impressions, and secured over 2.6 million potential reach from influencer partnerships. When the final metrics were tallied and the flour dust had settled, Wetzel’s exceeded their goals for both offer redemptions and check average, giving out a record-breaking 106,000 free Original Pretzels.

 

GET YOUR OWN FREEKIN’ PRETZEL (DAY)

This #NationalWetzelDay was our first at the helm of the brand’s social media strategy and execution, so we started from the top and focused all our efforts on the key goals:

1. Reclaim the broader industry holiday of National Pretzel Day, and own it as #NationalWetzelDay,
2. Win exposure for the brand in key markets and drive in-store offer redemptions for a single day promo, and
3.  Make that follower count climb.

For those unfamiliar, April 26th is the one day a year that all pretzel companies lose their minds. All kinds of offers, ads and gimmicks are flying around, but there is no better deal than at Wetzel’s: show up to any of the brands 350+ locations, get an Original Pretzel handed to you– no strings attached.

We kicked off our social media campaign with a clear theme: The ultimate pretzel free-for-all. Everyone gets their own “Handheld Happiness,” because you sure as hell shouldn’t have to share your favorite snack.

POSTER CHILD

Riffing on our full in-store poster, we launched dynamic paid ads, cover photos, and rolled out (pun intended) a whole month of tactical organic social posts designed to drum up excitement and make Wetzel’s some serious dough on April 26th.

This rolling campaign allowed us to flex our creative muscles and show off the power of video content. Starting with an animated teaser post on World Party Day, we  kept all eyes (and hands) on Wetzel’s, so that everyone knew our Baker Boys meant business, with cohesive bold and bright messaging.

We also rolled out special social media tools to drive much-kneaded engagement, including custom branded Instagram Stickers and a Snapchat Filter. These strategic social pieces took the pretzel party to where the kids (and their cool parents) are, letting us leverage their personal audiences while they celebrated right on their own profiles.

 

 

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

The final week before #NationalWetzelDay, we kicked things into high gear by deploying 5 key influencer partners to tell our bold, always-in-motion story, as well as tapping dozens of national micro foodie and lifestyle influencers to spread the word.

Our team took a look at Wetzel’s brand differentiators and target markets, and we went after influencer collabs that presented the best growth opportunities (an untapped tween market, hungry for viral content), as well as the key purchasers (millennial snackers and mall-going families). We secured contracts with accounts with impressive engagement rates, recognizable content of their own, and an authentic voice. Oh yeah..and they had a whole lot of followers, too.

Ultimate mom-on-the-go @obsessedbyportia, teen dancer @tatimcquay, millennial skate star @jennifer.charlene, tween TikTok heartthrob @samhurley, and action sport hero @soloflow each created a “countdown” post, that debuted on their profile (as well as on @wetzelspretzels) leading up to 4/26.

One of these branded content pieces has now earned 160k views on Instagram, while another well over 190k on TikTok, the new tween frontier. On Wetzel Day weekend alone, these posts raked in a whopping 81k likes, driving over 460k new audience impressions back to the brand’s profile.

 

 

All this buzz really picked up once the day arrived— our day-of post started trending on everyone’s Explore page. Over 260 users tagged us on their Instagram Feed and Story posts as they partied with pretzels. By the time the ovens cooled down, 106,000 pretzels had devoured and Wetzel’s had smashed through their campaign goals.

Our team is proud to have once again proved the power of social media marketing and help a client MAKE. THAT. DOUGH.