Monday, 10 May 2010 16:33

Mobile tour brings Tillamook Cheese to the people

When Henry V proposed the renovation of several vintage Volkswagen buses – chopped, lowered and boldly branded – to bring tasty cheese to the people, our clients at Tillamook Cheese thought it was a golden idea.

This month the buses were honored with a Gold Award for Best Vehicle Design at Event Marketer Magazine's annual EX Awards in Chicago.

The prestigious award validates a clever concept and reflects the universal appeal of the restored 1960s VW buses. The buses – junkers that were immaculately restored and painted orange to resemble a two-pound loaf of Tillamook cheddar – support the "Loaf Love Tour," a successful mobile tasting tour of 100 cities in nine states aimed at to reaching more than 1 million mainstream consumers, grocery shoppers and cheese lovers this year. The goal is to demonstrate the superior taste and quality of Tillamook Cheese.

"Live events are about creating unique, fun experiences that your target audience will enjoy," said Katja Asaro, managing director of sales and marketing at Henry V. "The customized Loaf Love Tour buses are just so cute they're irresistible. People want to visit our events when they see the bus, and once they taste the cheese we've converted them as a customer."

Driving sales and increasing exposure to the brand nationally were important for the client.

"We needed a nimble delivery system to put cheese in people's mouths that would also double as a branded billboard in parking lots and at consumer events everywhere," said John Russell, senior director of marketing at Tillamook Cheese. "Henry V not only developed the ultimate distribution system for us, but they continue to execute great brand experiences that are fun for consumers and help drive sales for our grocery partners."

Creating something cool, having fun and selling cheese. We think that's golden – and now Event Marketer, an influential industry authority, agrees.