Challenge & Objectives

Roberts Bakery faced an extremely difficult few years after a fire broke out at their factory in Cheshire in 2023. Not only did it severely affect operations, it also took its toll in the form of a decline in the brand’s market share. 

However by late 2024, Roberts were ready to mount a comeback and were once again “Back to their Baking Best”. They were intent on reclaiming share in their Midlands heartland to reinforce themselves as a key player in the increasingly competitive bread category. 

Roberts Bakery were seeking a media partner who had the required scale to speak to a broad audience of bread category-buyers, but in a uniquely regional way. Their ambitions were to increase awareness, attract new customers to the brand and, ultimately, begin to rebuild their market share.

Idea & Implementation

Roberts Bakery identified ITV as the ideal home to deliver their message and create stand-out like no other, providing unrivalled reach in the North West and Midlands regions among their core audience of women 55+.

As Roberts Bakery were returning to TV after a 3-year absence, they were able to take advantage of ITV’s Backing Business initiative to amplify the impact of their campaign through matched net funding.

To support the Backing Business campaign Roberts launched with an impactful ITV Regional Proud to Present in Coronation Street, alerting viewers that something special was about to unfold. The campaign continued to run in the two areas on ITV1 alongside tactical ITVX targeting. The ITVX activity offered Roberts the chance to optimise their targeting, appearing in specific, premium environments that resonated and indexed highly for their audience.

Client Quote

"After some time away from TV advertising, the support we received from ITV’s Backing Business initiative provided a fantastic opportunity to scale up our ‘Back to Best’ campaign and maximise our reach. ITV provided the perfect platform for us to reconnect with our target audience, share the news that we’re back with our best recipe loaves, and drive an increase in brand awareness." - Nicola Chaddock, Brand Manager

The Response

Targeting Strategy

Brand Target:

• All Adults with a core focus on Women 55+
  

ITVX Targeting:

• Pause Ads

• Programme Select & Trending Shows

ITV Trading Audience Bought:

• ITV1 Adults

ITV Region

• ITV1 Regions: Granada & Central 

The Results

• Brand awareness increased to 57% (a 6% uplift)

• The ITV campaign* contributed to a 14% rise in volume sales during the campaign period, equating to a 0.6% rise in market share