Innovation Drives Partnerships with Folgers® Coffee and Domino Sugar® to Bring Holiday Traditions to Consumers in New York’s Madison Square Park
Taste of Home, the leading multi-platform producer of food, home cooking and entertaining content, is bringing its Gingerbread Boulevard installation to New York City’s Madison Square Park for the fourth consecutive holiday season. The free event features the return of its life-size, interactive Gingerbread House – now with a “4D” immersive storytelling experience. Folgers® Coffee returns for its third consecutive year as a presenting partner and will be joined by Domino Sugar®, a first-time partner of the family-favorite holiday activation.
This year, the life-sized gingerbread house will provide a fully immersive experience where visitors will go on a sight, sound and motion journey through Gingerbread Boulevard. Upon entering the house, visitors will be able to look out across a candy land universe by means of a synchronized video experience. In the house visitors will meet the Gingerbread Man and follow him on a journey, becoming a part of the story through immersive elements such as smelling the gingerbread, feeling the chill of a snowstorm and meeting special guests along the way in a one-of-a-kind experience that engages all of their senses.
As families arrive at the Gingerbread House they will engage with Taste of Home’s “social stops,” where they can interact with the Gingerbread Boulevard story on Snapchat and Instagram.
“Partnering with Taste of Home on Gingerbread Boulevard provides a very organic consumer connection for our brand,” said Brian O’Malley, President & CEO, Domino Foods, Inc. “Taste of Home’s innovation with its annual holiday activation was especially attractive as we seek new ways to bring our brand to life around the holidays.”
He notes that their brand is one of the essential ingredients in everyone’s favorite holiday recipes and has been a part of family holiday traditions for generations. “Connecting Domino Sugar® with Gingerbread Boulevard’s family-oriented experience allows us to engage our consumers in a highly experiential and immersive environment as they create new memories.”
As part of its partnership with Taste of Home, Folgers will share DIY gingerbread ideas to consumers nationwide through a custom digital content program. Through a high-impact billboard ad unit, consumers will be able to customize their own gingerbread house by selecting unique options for windows and doors. Additionally, Taste of Home will broadcast its first Gingerbread Boulevard Facebook Live video on Friday, December 8 at 3:00 pm ET. The video will feature Taste of Home’s culinary specialists demonstrating how fans can recreate elements of the gingerbread house at home.
“Building holiday traditions is a valuable family dynamic that we are excited to be a part of year over year through our Gingerbread Boulevard event,” said Donna Lindskog, Publisher, Taste of Home. “As the media industry evolves and consumer expectations increase, we strive to create more personalized experiences.”
“Tying live events to our trusted brand content enables us to engage with our consumers in a holistic way, building deeper relationships with them while opening more doors for our marketing partners,” adds Lindskog. “We’re thrilled to have Folgers and Domino Sugar®onboard this year. These brands are a perfect fit for the immersive holiday consumer journey.”
Since its inception in 2014, Gingerbread Boulevard has delighted thousands of visitors. In 2016 alone, Taste of Home and Folgersalong with Madison Square Park welcomed 325,000 visitors over 10 days, generating 100MM press impressions. Gingerbread Boulevard continues to evolve year over year, incorporating elements that further connect visitors to Taste of Home and its sponsors through holiday storytelling. From standalone gingerbread houses; to an engaging VR experience; to a life-size gingerbread house walk-through; to a 4D immersive adventure, Taste of Home recognizes the value of innovating this in-person experience to drive engagement and create memories for consumers, ultimately leading to conversion for sponsors.
The live experience kicks off on December 7, 2017 at 3:30 p.m. ahead of the Madison Square Park tree-lighting ceremony. Visitors will have until December 20, 2017 to join in the holiday spirit at Gingerbread Boulevard. Organizers expect up to 350,000 visitors during the two-week-long installation along with millions of users via social media.
For more information please visit www.tasteofhome.com/gbblvd
About Taste of Home
Taste of Home is the leading multi-platform producer of food, home cooking and entertaining content. Taste of Home’s content is available online at TasteofHome.com and via the Taste Digital Community, with more than 39 million monthly visitors,* making these sites top destinations for kitchen-tested recipes, how-to techniques, cooking videos and lively community forums. The same engaging content can be found in Taste of Home magazine, with a circulation of 2.5 million and audience of over 13 million; Simple & Delicious magazine; top-selling bookazines; newsstand specials; popular cookbooks and via digital download on iPad, mobile apps and Kindle.
About The J.M. Smucker Company
For nearly 120 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments. Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of consumer food and beverage products and pet food and pet snacks in North America. In consumer foods and beverages, its brands include Smucker's®, Folgers®, Jif®, Dunkin’ Donuts®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, R.W. Knudsen Family®, Hungry Jack®, Café Bustelo®, Martha White®, truRoots®, Sahale Snacks®, Robin Hood®, and Bick’s®. In pet food and pet snacks, its brands include Meow Mix®, Milk-Bone®, Kibbles 'n Bits®, Natural Balance®, and 9Lives®. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth, and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information about the Company, visit jmsmucker.com.
The J.M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for the following, which are used under license: Pillsbury® is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC and Dunkin' Donuts® is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC. Dunkin' Donuts® brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Company for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and drug stores. This information does not pertain to Dunkin' Donuts® coffee or other products for sale in Dunkin' Donuts® restaurants.
About Domino Foods, Inc.
The Domino Foods, Inc., family of products includes two of the leading brands of all-natural, pure cane sugar in America: Domino®Sugar and C&H® Sugar. Each of these brands has its own rich American history that spans more than 100 years – Domino® in the East and C&H® in the West. Domino Foods, Inc. is the sales and marketing arm of ASR Group, which is owned by Florida Crystals Corporation and Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida.
*comScore Media Metrix, January 2015
**Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram May 2015