We didn’t create an advertising campaign, we built a real-life scientific experiment. Carried out and approved by real scientists, underpinned by real science, and based on real results from real people.

Our hypothesis was that there was a genetic link to loving or hating Marmite. And we believed that news of this genetic discovery would give families a compelling reason to try the brand, which could be leveraged in all sorts of paid, owned and earned communications.

To prove our hypothesis, we partnered with cutting-edge gene technology company DNAFit and conducted over 8,760 hours of analysis. We then used our data learnings to design and manufacture a gene home-testing kit, available for order online. We promoted this Marmite Gene Test kit in a nationwide cross platform campaign.

This is a campaign of data firsts. The first time a UK food brand has ever discovered a genetic link to preference. The first time a UK food brand has enabled consumers to conduct home DNA test themselves. And the first time a UK food brand has run a nationwide campaign to promote a Gene Test kit.

Our data allowed us to prove a key genetic insight which we then turned into a successful marketing strategy, with data at its heart.

The data journey started with a nationwide sourcing of saliva cheek swabs. This data was then stored, evaluated and assessed at the DNAFit Genomics Research Centre in East Anglia. The analysed data was then published in a Scientific White Paper and shared worldwide. Finally, we used our data to create a Marmite Gene Test kit which was made available for purchase on the Marmite website, with an accuracy of 99.98%.

The research data created a huge volume of earned media and conversation about Marmite in the national and international press that the campaign would never have received had it been a standard ‘advertising’ campaign. Key scientists from the research study provided a series of TV, online and press interviews. This massively extended our reach and enhanced conversation around the Marmite Gene Project.

The success of the project depended on the close cooperation between scientific analysts and our marketing teams. Putting it simply, without the data there would have been no Marmite Gene Project.

The consumer experience of Marmite was completely transformed by our data-led strategy.

Armed with our genetic data set, we were able to publish a Scientific White Paper exposing our findings, seeded with multiple scientific news sources. This generated a heated debate amongst the scientific community, fuelled by leading scientists from the Marmite Gene Project conducting a series of TV, online and press interviews. This coverage in the scientific and mainstream media gave our campaign an unprecedented momentum, before any paid communications were launched.

Our data then allowed us to create a Marmite Gene Test kit, a first for any food brand, with an accuracy of 99.98%. This Marmite gene Test kit was made available for purchase on the Marmite website and promoted in our cross platform advertising campaign.

The impact on the business was unprecedented. Brand awareness quadrupled, from 4% to 12%. We achieved an earned reach of 1.4 billion impressions. But most importantly, the Marmite Gene Project changed consumer behaviour: families started trying Marmite again. Year-on-year sales for the brand saw a remarkable uplift: 14% across all retailers.

In conclusion, the Marmite Gene Project is the brand’s most polarising marketing campaign to date. And its most effective.

We’ve always known people either love or hate Marmite. But we’ve never understood why. Until now. Working in partnership with a leading gene tech company, we set up the Marmite Gene Project. We collected and analysed gene data and used this firstly to prove that Marmite taste preference is genetic; secondly to create a Marmite Gene Test Kit; and thirdly, to promote the kit in a cross-platform campaign. Marmite became the first UK food brand to discover a genetic link to taste preference, and invite consumers to test themselves. The campaign is Marmite’s most polarising and effective to date.

To ensure the science was robust, we worked with leading genetics company DNAFit. We took DNA samples from 216 Brits, profiling them for their Marmite taste preference. We conducted over 8,760 hours of genetic analysis to determine the existence of the Marmite Gene.

This revealed 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that correlated significantly with a love of Marmite. Five of these SNPs had a genome-wide significance - meaning they were detectable in the population at large. In simple terms, we had proved that people are genetically predisposed to love or hate Marmite.

We then used our data to drive an immersive communications campaign across multiple touchpoints: a Scientific White Paper, a Marmite Gene Test Kit which consumers could purchase and use at home, TV, online and press interviews with key scientists, and a nationwide cross channel advertising campaign promoting the Marmite Gene Test kit, targeted at UK families. The campaign launched on 6th September 2017. Media spend continues throughout 2018.

Marmite is a savoury spread with a distinctive, strong flavour. People either love it or hate it. And those that love it usually eat it at breakfast. But recently Marmite had become a less popular breakfast choice. Parents were less inclined to choose our savoury yeast spread, with 1 in 4 parents refusing to buy Marmite because they assumed their children would hate it.

This downward trend was driven by consumer’s desire to eat sweeter foods for breakfast. And it was exacerbated by our small communications spend, dwarfed by competitors like peanut butter, honey, and hazelnut spread.

Our brief was to turn sales of Marmite around. We had to reclaim our place at the nation’s breakfast tables. We had to find a way to get families to try Marmite. And our communications idea had to be activated across every touchpoint to create disproportionate earned media value.