Kenwood is just one of the companies who have been waiting in eager anticipation for the latest series of the Great British Bake Off (GBBO).
The food appliance firm has spent the last year since the end of the last season preparing for the seventh series of the BBC television show, stating it is one of the most important events of the year for sales along with Christmas and Easter.
Marketing director UK and Ireland at Kenwood Alex Pickering told The Drum there was a direct link between GBBO and its retail figures.
Since the programme started using Kenwood’s kMix standing mixers, instead of KitchenAid ones, this has positively impacted the brand.
Mr Pickering said: “We have seen consumers uploading recipes through our Facebook site through to a greater interest in store. Looked at over the last six-year period, sales of stand mixers have doubled.”
Comparatively, sales of KitchenAid’s mixers fell by 14 per cent after last year’s series, during which Nadiya Hussain was crowned the winner.
Kenwood realises the impact of the popular TV show, which is why it plans for the event 12 months in advance. It embarked on an experiential marketing campaign through “theatre” and visuals, having a recipes app, getting retail partners on board, and launching its ‘My Chef’ initiative.
This campaign is intended to encourage people to purchase a Kenwood Chef mixer to receive up to £125 worth of free attachments, and will run until the end of the year.
Kenwood hopes those watching the series will be inspired to go out and purchase an appliance and take advantage of this promotion while GBBO is still on air.