What was the challenge?
While AI can generate just about any image you can think of, it often falls short regarding food pictures. You might end up with bizarre-looking tomatoes, oversized portions, or food merged together creating another ‘made up’ type of food.
Turns out, even AI could use a little help in the kitchen!
What action did they take?
Drawing on over 150 years of tomato expertise, Heinz has tackled the challenge of AI-generated food images with the launch of its first recipe book for Artificial Intelligence.
Created in collaboration with Heinz chefs, an AI designer, and a prompts expert, the AI CookBook features over 30 recipes, complete with specific prompts for AI to follow.
Each recipe is elevated by a key ingredient that can enhance any dish—Heinz tomatoes.
Building on the success of their Heinz Tomato Open Sauce campaign, Heinz adopted an open-source approach to inspire fans to explore their culinary creativity.
The free online cookbook lets Heinz lovers create perfect tomato-based recipes both digitally and in real life.
What were the results?
- 5000+ Images generated using cookbook’s prompts.
- 6.5% paid social CTR vs 2-3% benchmark.
- +4.2pp Improved Heinz Masterbrand
What marketing lessons can we learn?
- Leveraging AI for Creativity: AI can be a powerful tool in developing creative marketing content that captures consumer interest….but understanding how to prompt is a critical skill.
- Engaging Consumers with Novelty: Innovative campaigns that introduce new concepts can drive engagement and elevate brand perception.
- Highlighting Product Versatility: Using creative approaches to demonstrate product applications can encourage consumers to explore and purchase more.
Conclusion
Heinz’s AI-generated cookbook campaign illustrates the potential of AI in crafting unique and engaging marketing strategies. By combining technology with creativity, Heinz was able to connect with consumers in a new way, reinforcing its brand identity and encouraging product usage. This initiative highlights the growing role of AI in developing innovative marketing content that resonates with audiences.
