StarKist

Redefining tuna from comfort food to on-the-go, healthy protein.

  • INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN
  • DIGITAL TV
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • INFLUENCER MARKETING
Work

The Challenge

Tuna had an image problem. People saw it as comfort food — tuna melts, casseroles and mayonnaise’s main squeeze. The entire tuna category was on the decline. StarKist responded by inventing the no-drain pouch and filled it with flavored tuna. But adoption was slow, and sales lagged.

Insight:
People needed to learn to eat tuna again.

People weren’t buying StarKist pouches because they didn’t understand this new way of eating tuna. We realized we had to do two things: demonstrate how to use the product, and redefine it in the context of on-the-go lifestyle, taking tuna out of the kitchen and into the world.

Solution

TEAR. EAT. GO.

We showed how simple eating from a tuna pouch really is — there’s no draining like with cans, so you literally just tear, eat and go. That simple, instructive phrase became our rallying cry throughout a broadcast, digital and social media campaign that showed StarKist pouches anywhere and everywhere except the kitchen. We rehired the iconic Charlie the Tuna and paired him with star influencer Candace Cameron Bure to inspire on-the-go health and taste seekers.

Results

Since quench became StarKist’s lead agency in 2013, StarKist’s pouch compound annual growth rate skyrocketed to 199%.

+ 14.5% pouch sales growth YOY

StarKist was the only brand to grow in the category, and in fact, their growth was strong enough to offset the declines of all competitors, leading to flat category growth.

  • INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN
  • TV
  • DIGITAL

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