In 2021, Mexico lost the Gold Cup final against its eternal rival: USA.

Elena’s is a local brand that didn’t have the same budget as the big players to put behind large sampling programs, but had big goals for driving new portfolio sales. We had to lean into the natural behaviors of ice cream buyers to devise a sampling idea so well-disguised, so fun that it could go viral on its own without a big media blitz.

Elena’s market share in Mexico was plateauing in 2021 and losing share across its entire flavor portfolio. In order to create the kind of lift the brand needed we knew we would have to create a truly effective and powerful sampling campaign.

The main objectives: Drive trial of multiple flavors, increase household penetration, create new ice cream occasions, garner share of voice.

Sampling disguised as football therapy.

Helping Mexican fans deal with the most severe kind of heartbreak in Latin America: football heartbreak. With this task in mind, we successfully designed the first-ever Elena’s 5-flavor ice cream split into the five stages of grief. Soothing vanilla for denial, calming matcha for anger, uplifting chocolate for sadness, anti-inflammatory red berries for acceptance, and phytoestrogen-rich mango for a dash of hope.

A complementary microsite was launched for fans to find curated content and feel better through every stage.

Eating your way through one delicious pint not only sees you through the pain, but also through the Elena’s flavor portfolio, driving more +1 buys in the future.

These special sample 1L tubs were available for consumers at select locations throughout the country.

Our North American teams combined consumer data insights to find out what drives ice cream purchases at the consumer level. We brought in nutritionists and psychologists to consult on our findings and interpret emotional drivers between sweet treats and pleasure response. We knew we were on to something when we realized ice cream wasn’t just a celebratory treat, but ice cream therapy for negative emotions. We also knew that Elena’s high-quality flavors and extracts were associated with real types of mood uplift.

The cultural aha-moment came when we realized the Gold Cup was coming in 2021 – and nothing breaks more Mexican hearts than football defeat. So, knowing Mexico would be facing their eternal rivals, team USA, we anticipated this would be an emotional rollercoaster. We had to be ready to see fans through the whole process, ensuring uplift even in a worst-case elimination scenario.

Special sample 1L tubs were available for consumers at select locations throughout the country and were released with custom packaging, retailer toolkits, and a logistics plan to stock the ice cream across the country. Consumers were invited through an online film and social communication to grab one of our special editions at retail outlets near them

Simultaneously, a dedicated microsite was launched for shoppers to find curated content to make them feel better through every stage.

Timeline: 1 month (Aug 15 – Sep 15)

Overall sales increase: 36%

Sales increase by flavor in the first week:

Vanilla: 65%

Matcha: 52%

Chocolate: 71%

Red Berries: 44%

Mango: 61%

+230% in brand awareness.