We are thrilled to have won the PRCA Consumer Relations Award at the 2021 PRCA Dare Awards for the campaign we delivered on the 2020 banana bread boom for our client, Maple from Canada UK.

As the UK was plunged into lockdown in March 2020, we turned into a nation of home bakers. In the search of something to keep the boredom at bay, people took to the kitchen, with banana bread topping their list of recipes. By the end of April 2020, internet searches for banana bread recipes had increased by 525% and over 45,000 pictures of the bake had been posted in Instagram.

Informed by research conducted at the end of 2019 into the eating habits British consumers, our food team had already developed a new, original recipe for banana bread which featured in Cooking with maple, naturally, a new recipe book created in-house by Liquid from start to finish in January 2020.

The research revealed an increased interest in both brunch and healthier snacks, so we created the perfect hybrid – banana bread sweetened with maple syrup.

When media monitoring and social listening revealed an uptake in banana bread In March 2020, we saw an opportunity to drive the narrative and our strategy was simple – use our integrated channels to position pure Canadian maple syrup as the perfect store cupboard essential to take banana bread to the next level.

As lockdown was announced and panic buying and ingredient shortages set in, we were ready for action, quickly compiling multi-channel content to inspire and engage consumers:

• Blog posts from Maple from Canada’s chef ambassadors on new ways to use store cupboard essentials
• Digital newsletters with tips for batch cooking, baking and using up leftovers
• A free, digital version of Cooking the maple, naturally available for download
• Social assets and video content of easy, family friendly recipes to try at home
• Media pitching to secure coverage of new, original recipes

Although we flooded Maple from Canada’s channels with content, we needed some expert support to ensure that consumers were turning to us for the best banana bread recipes.

We enlisted the help of one of Maple from Canada’s chef ambassadors, Great British Bake Off star Manon Lagréve. We worked with Manon to develop an additional banana bread recipe using maple syrup, this time including mini eggs, using Easter as a media hook.

We secured an exclusive opportunity with the Daily Mirror and created an easy-to-follow recipe video to feature across their website and social media channels. The piece went live on Easter Sunday, inspiring consumers to use up not just bananas but also leftover Easter chocolate to put a twist on what was already a firm lockdown favourite.

Well done to the Maple from Canada team – this award was so well deserved for all of your hard work!