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Challenge

Edible partnered with longstanding client, Nestle’s Gerber® brand, to announce Lucas as the winner of the annual Gerber® “spokesbaby” contest. While Lucas won this year’s contest because of his winning smile, the 18-month-old made history as the first baby with Down syndrome to receive the coveted title where he’ll serve as the face of the brand for 2018. The world responded in an overwhelmingly positive manner, congratulating Lucas and praising Gerber®.

How We Did It

The team worked closely with Gerber® to create the strategic plan and an earned media strategy tied to unveiling the story with a e top-tier national media outlet. In preparation for potential negative commentary, the team connected with advocacy group and NGOs to garner support from credible third-parties leading up to the announcement. The team also created a crisis & issues preparedness approach to help the brand navigate the sensitive topic.

Results

  • 3+ billion earned media impressions with stories on TODAY, GMA, NBC Nightly News, CNN, USA Today, New York Times, BuzzFeed, NowThis, Parents, Vogue and even went worldwide with coverage on the BBC
  • TODAY unveiled Lucas as the winner during the morning’s shows highest rated 8 a.m. hour, reaching over 4+ million viewers
  • Gerber® was a trending topic on Twitter and followers on Gerber’s® social channels significantly increased
  • Influencers and advocacy groups publicly shared support, including the National Down Syndrome Society, the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, the Special Olympics and congressmen from Lucas’ home state
  • Employee pride went far past Gerber® and throughout its parent company, Nestle, whose global head of marketing stated, “Nestle employees everywhere are immensely proud of what you’ve done”

3+ billion

earned media impressions

4+ million

viewers reached

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