Hobart, Traulsen and Baxter—which offer a full line of food equipment, from flight-type warewashers to countertop food processors—launched a new B2B campaign at the 2011 National Restaurant Association (NRA) show called “Back to Scratch.” These partners recognized a growing demand for scratch baking and utilizing fresh ingredients. The target audience of this campaign was foodservice professionals, including bakers, schools and institutional bakers.
Hobart Corp. teamed up with Buddy Valastro from TLC’s “The Cake Boss” to help spread the message. Buddy is a big supporter of the Hobart mixer and scratch baking, and therefore was a perfect fit. Buddy and other chefs conducted baking demonstrations during the NRA show. Attendees could also take pictures with Buddy and were given a web address to view them at, creating further engagement.
Beyond the show, Horbart Corp. created a website at www.getbacktoscratch.com. This website allows foodservice professionals an opportunity to talk to other bakers and share photos of food items. Bakers can also put themselves on the map by submitting their location, allowing consumers to find them. A contest for a Hobart mixer, that goes until August 21, 2011, has been generating a lot of buzz on the site as well. Bakers can enter the contest by submitting their signature scratch-made item for others to vote on it.
Other channels utilized to connect to bakers included Facebook and Twitter:
www.facebook.com/getbacktoscratch
This campaign was done very tastefully. The focus is on the bakers and the recognized trend toward going back to scratch. Nowhere in this campaign are Hobart, Traulsen and Baxter hard selling any of its equipment. Obviously, the goal long-term goal is that bakers will remember them when purchasing equipment, but it goes to show that B2B companies can create real connections with their audiences without trying to sell something.
Here is some additional earned media the campaign achieved:
www.foodchannel.com/blogs/entry/cake-boss-takes-cake/
www.zshare.net/audio/91400631bdbf9e1d