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Creating and capitalizing
on a viral moment.
Chef Danielle Sepsy is known as the "Scone Queen" for good reason—her scones, which had been delighting New Yorkers for years, won national attention after being praised by Dan Levy and the judges of HBO Max's "The Big Brunch.”
With newfound attention from the television show, Danielle wanted to seize the opportunity of being in the spotlight and let people see that she’s more than just scones. Could we successfully create brand extensions for Danielle and build her an engaged community of fans?
WHAT WE DID
Honing an Authentic Brand
We encouraged Danielle to stick with her roots and focused her brand as an Italian American chef and baker, all powered with a short-form video strategy on TikTok and Instagram.
Danielle's unique approach to cooking–“innovative nostalgia”–helped her carve her own lane in a crowded food creator space and grow a community of more than 180,000 followers.
HOW WE DROVE GROWTH
Trendsetting
Picking up on social chatter where Italian Americans were sharing their nostalgia for pastina, Danielle created her own innovative takes on the dish, like pastina alla vodka and pastina carbonara, and uploaded them to TikTok. The series of videos went viral, with 5M+ impressions.
Soon, other food creators followed suit, sharing their own renditions of pastina.
Pastina quickly became one of the hottest food trends on TikTok.
#pastina
100M+ views
Just as pastina was having its moment, pasta brand Ronzoni announced it was discontinuing its line of pastina. Shocked foodies, including Danielle, vented their frustrations on social media, and the media flocked to cover the story.
When the media sought an expert to speak to the pastina debacle,
they chose the person at the center of the conversation.
After nailing her TV appearances, Danielle became a media-favorite for cooking and baking segments. Her constant presence in the media built her national credibility and opened doors to new opportunities for her bakery, The Hungry Gnome.
Results
60M
PR Impressions
20M
Social Impressions
2M
Social Engagements
With her bustling community on social media, brands reached out to partner with Danielle, eager to get in front of her audience. We facilitated more than a dozen high value brand partnerships for Danielle, including with iconic pasta brand Barilla, which tapped Danielle to promote its pastina line.
