“How do you grow a new brand of sweets using digital?” asked Cadbury.

“You use a holding page, Facebook, YouTube, free samples, skyscraper/MPU/local connect banners, CRM, SEM, a website, a few great applications, some singing sweets and a sugar bear,” we said.

“Of course you do,” they said.

So, when Cadbury asked us to grow The Natural Confectionery Company in the UK we set about bringing this all to life.

Our idea was to make finding out all about the brand as easy as possible and to reward people for making the effort.

We took full advantage of the awareness created by some great TV ads and directed those searching online to a holding page that looked a bit like this. And, if they watched a piece of content they could sign up for some free sweets in return for a little bit of info about themselves. We also created some banners that let people sign up for a free sample on the spot if they engaged with some singing sweets.

And this wasn’t any old sample. This was a hide-and-seek-dinosaur print kind of a sample. Like this.

For those who didn’t find our samples we set up a YouTube Channel and Facebook Page featuring the TV ads and some bonus content, like a mini soap opera or a Facebook gift.

Once we had made a whole host of friends through sampling, sign-ups, Facebook friends and YouTube subscriptions we launched our full site and invited them all along to come and check it out. It had all of the usual product info that you’d expect along with a cool animation on the company’s charming history and a page unashamedly dedicated to fun.

So far we’ve made a Mini-Movie Maker, a Hallowe’en Machine and had a sneaky idea on how to Catch Santa. Each time we had something new to show off we dropped a mail to our database, left a teaser in our Social Media channels or even promoted it with a banner to keep people engaged.

We like to think we’ve taken people on a little journey. From the first giggle at the TV ad all the way through to regular TNCC munching; converting awareness into brand engagement and, ultimately, to purchase.

“Well done,” they said.