PURPLE HIVE PROJECT

Bronze Spike
TitlePURPLE HIVE PROJECT
BrandBEGA
Product / ServiceBEGA B HONEY
CategoryC01. Brave Brands
EntrantTHINKERBELL Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation THINKERBELL Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Adam Ferrier Thinkerbell Strategy
Ben Couzens Thinkerbell Creative
Tom Wenborn Thinkerbell Creative
Nikia Shepherd Thinkerbell Strategy
Tarah Miller Thinkerbell Earned Media
Rosie Burke Thinkerbell Account Service
Cale Berry Thinkerbell Creative
Sam Butcher Thinkerbell Strategy
Katie Ayling Thinkerbell Production
Lars Oleson Xailient Production
Shivy Yohanandan Xailient Production
Joel Kuperholtz Vimana Production
Vignesh Murana Vimana Production
Dillon Bailey Honest Fox Production
Linda Bailey Honest Fox Production
Nadine Berrange Thinkerbell Production
Adam McNamara Bega Foods Executive General Manager
Matt Gray Bega Foods Head of Marketing
Hannah Saliba Bega Foods Brands Communication & PR Manager
Jacqui Roth Bega Foods Marketing Manager Spreads
Paige Bonnici Bega Foods Brands Manager – Sweet Spreads
Keri Morrison Bega Foods Brand Manager
Michelle Nguyen Bega Foods Assistant Brand Manager
James Coleman Bega Foods Marketing Manager, Digital and Communications

Why is this work relevant for Creative Strategy?

In 2020, Bega Foods entered the Honey market, working with us to co-create the product, packaging and product from the ground up. The result is B Honey, a sustainable honey brand built off the platform “It all starts with a Bee”. Everything the brand does will support bees and their environment before all else.

Background

As Australia is the only continent on the planet without Varroa mite, there has never been a need for similar technology. The Purple Hive Project needed to be built from the ground up, for Australian conditions and Australian bees. It also needed to be able to do all computing at the device so as to save power as the device is powered by solar.

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

B Honey was entering into a cluttered category, where most brands claim to be doing good for the bees but have a track record of putting profit before action. Not only was the B Honey brand new to consumers, it was also an unfamiliar face for beekeepers, who were critical to obtaining sustainably sourced honey. Bega (client) wanted to launch the B Honey brand in a way that would support beekeepers, the honey industry and bees, while also establishing their position as the honey that was good for bees.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

Through workshops, stakeholder interviews and field research we identified the biggest threat facing Australian bees… Varroa mite. The global bee industry is under threat from a small yet devastating parasite, the Varroa Mite, which is decimating bee colonies around the world and is a leading cause of colony collapse disorder. Currently Australia is the only inhabited continent on earth without Varroa Mite, and to keep it that way the Australian Government invests millions of dollars into a manual, time consuming monitoring at high risk ports around the country.

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

In keeping with the strategy of ‘it all starts with a bee’ Bega (client) agreed to divert the marketing budget into an innovation to help protect against a Varroa outbreak in Australia. We created The Purple Hive Project, a solar powered beehive that uses A.I computer vision to detect Varroa Mite without the need for manual checks. The hive works by scanning each individual bee that enters the hive. The algorithm can tell the difference between a healthy bee and a bee carrying the microscopic Varroa Mite. If a mite is found an alert is sent to the relevant authority and the outbreak can be immediately contained.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

The Purple Hive Project immediately garnered international attention with consumers and the bee industry. It drove B Honey from 0 to 10% market share without spending a dollar on marketing.

Links

Website URL