Waitoa launches QR-enabled campaign to trace free range chicken

The campaign is Waitoa's response to rapidly growing consumer demand for provenance information, landing at the time of year when chicken consumption is on the rise.

100,000 more chicken meals are eaten per week in summer compared to winter.

The campaign will also feature television advertising depicting a pair of farmers pondering, with provincial understatement, how little we know about the provenance of our poultry.

The ad also features an impossibly long cup of tea, representing the time, care and expertise that goes into raising Waitoa's free range chicken.

Ben Ward, Inghams NZ's head of marketing, says the campaign is about putting the Waikato and the farmers raising the brand's free range chicken on the map.

"Research shows there is a genuine disconnect between what New Zealanders think they know about their chicken and the reality," Ward says. "We want New Zealand to know the Waikato farms responsible for their favourite free range chicken."

The QR codes, fitted to Waitoa packaging nation-wide, send consumers on a journey down a dusty Waikato country road to meet some of the different farms responsible for raising the chickens. It also takes consumers straight to meal inspiration specific for the product, addressing the ‘what to have for dinner’ question in Kiwi’s households. 

For farmers like Jason Williams, it’s a chance to showcase the proud work ethically raising NZ’s most popular meat, which is rarely in the spotlight.

“Chicken farmers aren’t always on the billboards or on Country Calendar, but it’s a fantastic profession led by mostly family-owned farms,” says Williams.

"When I show people the videos on my phone from the farm they’re just amazed how beautiful it is and how many chickens are out using the ranges. We get to see them grow from tiny little fluffy chicks into happy fully feathered chickens.”

Waitoa is shifting something more fundamental - the way we value the meat we eat most. 

“People are starting to look at chicken the same way they look at lamb or salmon. They want to know the place behind the product. When you understand the care that goes into raising your food, you value it differently, and that is what we hope this campaign inspires,” says Ward.

The new Waitoa campaign will run across TV, cinema, out-of-home, in-store, and social media (Meta and TikTok) for the next quarter.