Greta Hammel has been named this year’s Marketer of the Year for her leadership in driving the Donegal-produced Promise Gluten Free bread and Gallagher’s Bakehouse brands through remarkable periods of growth by reimagining how consumers engage with the products. Starting with Promise, Hammel identified an opportunity to take a brand that had been confined to the niche gluten-free category and transform it into a mainstream player.
The former Mondelez International executive, with her experience of working on iconic brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk and Philadelphia, recognised that while only nine per cent of consumers showed an interest in gluten-free products, 43 per cent were willing to try them for health reasons – a key to broadening the bread’s appeal. As CMO, Hammel led the relaunch of Promise by redefining its positioning, product range and pricing strategy.
She did not just benchmark Promise against gluten-free competitors, but worked to create a product that could compete with mainstream bread brands in both taste and quality. She introduced premium cues such as larger slice sizes and seeded toppings and dustings. She focused on adding nutrition – high fibre, low sugar, low fat – changes that distinguished Promise from rivals and helped propel the brand to number one in its category.
The launch campaign rolled out a new brand identity with the ‘Better Bread, That’s a Promise’ tagline, highlighting the product’s health benefits and taste. The campaign reached over 3.1 million consumers, doubled brand awareness to 44 per cent and resulted in 30,000 new customers. Across digital channels, the messaging achieved 26m impressions and delivered a 100 per cent advocacy rate, far exceeding the original target of 75 per cent.
Revenue growth in Ireland was at 58 per cent, compared to the gluten-free category average of 12 per cent – Hammel
Hammel expanded Promise into Canada and the UK. Her decision to reposition gluten-free bread from the freezer to the in-store bakery changed consumer engagement with the category. Promise became the top-selling gluten-free brand in Canada, with revenue growth at 43 per cent compared to the category norm of 6.7 per cent. The brand boasts 106 per cent of total growth, meaning that without Promise, the category would have declined.
At the same time, Hammel identified an opening in Ireland’s stagnant, traditional bread market. Gallagher’s Bakehouse was a brand which had a strong heritage in its native Donegal but with a limited national presence. By introducing a new concept, sourdough in a bag, Hammel tapped into a growing demand for premium, artisan bread with taste and nutrition. She rolled out a campaign that differentiated it from other legacy breads.
Donegal singer Daniel O’Donnell was hired to front Gallagher’s Bakehouse ‘Secret is Out’ campaign, with the narrative again playing on the brand’s nutritional value and taste in a light-hearted way. The new commitment to superior ingredients and artisan quality appealed to consumers in the market for healthy and tasty bread. It became Ireland’s fastest-growing bread, up 73 per cent in the Republic and 84 per cent north of the Border.
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When asked what was the biggest challenge in making Promise a bigger brand, Hammel replied: “My role in a large company might have been out of line (with a smaller company). The fundamentals of marketing don’t change. They didn’t want to know about the transformation process, so I had to take them on that journey. You can’t let pride or job titles get in the way. Roll up your sleeves and put yourself on the shop floor – literally.”
Marketer of the Year (MotY) chair Barry Dooley, chief executive of the Association of Advertisers in Ireland (AAI), said Promise became the most popular gluten-free brand in all its markets with the best value for money. Hammel was one of three marketers in the final of this year’s competition. She was joined by Stephen Jackson, head of consumer and marketing at PTSB and Mark Brennan, marketing lead at Allianz Ireland.
Marketer of the Year is a Marketing.ie initiative sponsored by Dynamo.
Greta Hammel is pictured with Jamie Helly, Dynamo founder and executive chairman, Michael Cullen, Marketing.ie and Róisín Ni Raighne, managing director, Dynamo at the awards lunch in Fire restaurant. Photo: Brian McEvoy
