The Brief

In 2010, Hippo Baked Munchies was successfully launched into the Indian snack market. With its simple yet insightful philosophy of 'Hunger is the root of all evil. So, don't go hungry.' Hippo became a runaway success. However, its nascent sales & distribution network found it challenging to keep track of stock, identify and re-stock empty shelves across 400,000 stores nationwide. In India, 92% of the snack market is unorganized and inventory tracking is usually a logistical nightmare. To solve this, Hippo turned to its followers on Twitter and asked them to tweet whenever they couldn't find the snack in store.

Creative Execution

As a snack brand, Hippo encouraged a simple philosophy based on a simple insight , 'Hunger is the root of all evil. So, don't go hungry.' Hippo struck the right chord with his audience as they bought into this simple human truth. Since Hippo stood for a cause, rather than merely selling a product, people willingly participated in his 'Hunger-Fighting' campaign. Hippo enjoyed a great response as his 'hunger-fighters' were tracking inventory, while having a larger cause at the back of their minds.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Hippo had a simple yet powerful philosophy- 'Hunger is the root of all evil. So, don't go hungry.' Hippo used this simple human insight to connect better with his consumers even on Twitter. Hippo spoke to them as a hunger fighter. As more people bought into this philosophy, Hippo launched Plan-T and urged them to help him identify empty shelves and inform him via a tweet whenever they found empty shelves in their neighborhoods. Tweets poured in from more than 50 cities. People were tweeting from their cellphones from supermarkets, hypermarkets and local grocery stores. Hippo collected this information, analysed and sent it to the local distributors of respective areas, who eventually restocked the packs.

Results

Hippo gauge demand, and identify and prioritize new markets. Since demand was never a problem, by catering to it, Hippo upped his sales by 76%. For consumers, the knowledge that a mere tweet could restock their neighborhood store with their favorite snack was highly fulfilling. Hippo could also measure the return on investment per tweet. Plan-T is now a case study taught at leading B-schools, featured in various books on online marketing. Even TWTRCON, San Francisco acknowledged the innovative manner in which Plan-T solved such a technical problem.Plan-T has found a permanent place in the brand's sales and distribution system. And, all this at almost no cost.