Dina Foods’ successful National Baklawa Day campaign
The Background
Suzanne Howe Communications has been Dina Foods’ PR partner since 2018.
Dina Foods is internationally renowned for its delicious hand-made Lebanese baklawa.
In the summer of 2024, work began to build a social media campaign to celebrate National Baklawa Day on 17th November.
The Objectives
The strategic campaign aimed at maximising:
- Social media engagement
- Brand awareness
- Sales
Campaign KPIs:
- Increase brand awareness
- Increase engagement with existing followers
- Collaboration with influencers
The Strategy
Starting in early September, SHC’s strategy combined a compelling giveaway, influencer outreach, and targeted advertising, all while highlighting Dina Foods’ Lebanese heritage and exceptional baklawa.
Instagram Giveaway
The Instagram giveaway was designed to be more attractive by partnering with a hot drinks brand, whose products complemented Dina Foods’ Lebanese baklawa and whose presence added credibility and enhanced the perceived value of the prize.
SHC and Dina Foods partnered with Twinings UK to elevate the giveaway’s appeal – and provided its premium tea and other items alongside Dina Foods’ baklawa as part of the prize. Twinings also supported the campaign by sharing the giveaway post in an Instagram story.
Giveaway Execution and Instagram Ad
The Giveaway reel was posted and pinned to the top of Dina Foods Instagram feed on 6th November until 13th November. The giveaway successfully encouraged followers to tag friends and interact with both Dina Foods and Twinings’ accounts.
The Instagram advertising campaign launched on 7 November and ran until 12 November, strategically timed to create a final push for the Giveaway.
Influencer Campaign
A key part of the campaign was the influencer outreach. SHC and Dina Foods carefully selected 17 influencers from a list of 25+, prioritising those with strong engagement and a connection to the target audience. Many had posted about Dina Foods in the past.
These influencers were divided into three phases with their baklawa bundles and therefore their social media posts timed strategically to maximise engagement in the countdown to National Baklawa Day:
• Three Weeks to Go: Around 25 October 2024 – Micro Influencers with smaller but loyal followings and high engagement to generate early buzz.
• Two Weeks to Go: Around 1 November – Mid-range influencers to build momentum.
• One Week to Go: Around 8 November – High-reach influencers to build greater momentum and maximise reach and impact.
Influencer stories were saved to Highlights, reshared to Dina Foods’ feed, and kept visible for extended brand presence. The overall influencer campaign bolstered content reach and visibility, and some influencers went above and beyond by posting multiple times, and posting about the giveaway nearer to National Baklawa Day and after the event, demonstrating authentic enthusiasm for the brand and the products.
The Results
Campaign success
The Influencer campaign proved very effective, delivering excellent visibility through a series of engaging stories, and reaching a wider audience with a consistently high reach per post.
The Instagram advertising campaign performed strongly, successfully reaching thousands of accounts and generating widespread visibility for the Dina Foods’ brand and the giveaway. It drove a high volume of traffic to the giveaway post, contributing to a significant increase in engagement.
The paid content also prompted a large increase in profile visits and interactions, including a high level of audience participation through comments, likes, and saves.
Evaluation against KPIs
Increase in brand awareness: The campaign exceeded expectations, achieving a substantial increase in account reach and attracting a large number of new followers.
Engagement with existing followers: Strategic content and a clear call to action generated impressive levels of engagement, with particularly strong audience interaction on the giveaway post.
Collaboration with influencers: The campaign successfully built relationships with relevant influencers, laying a foundation for future collaborations and community-building.
