A viral space moment fell in Nutella’s lap. Here’s how they capitalized.
Speed, understanding and a willingness to step out of the spotlight paid off.
It’s the kind of thing every brand dreams about.
On a live broadcast from the historic Artemis II moon orbit, a full jar of Nutella lazily floated past the astronauts.
No one could have planned that moment. But taking full advantage of it took a coordinated effort, an eye on culture and lots of flexibility.
“Obviously, we couldn’t anticipate an opportunity like this, but we were ready to receive it,” said Steve Alessandrini vice president, corporate communications & public relations at Ferrero North America, parent company of Nutella. “We very much recognized the gravity of the moment, pun intended, but we were really well positioned to capitalize on this.”
Alessandrini attributes their success to two key factors: Building a strong foundation, and the partnership Ferrero has with Golin, its agency partner.
“I’d say outside of my wife, I don’t talk to anyone on a daily basis more than Kelsey (Hammonds),” Alessandrini said of his co-presenter, executive vice president at Golin. The pair spoke at Ragan’s PR Daily Conference this week.
Nutella’s story serves as a blueprint for other brands thrust into unexpected spotlights. A solid grounding in the brand, social listening and a willingness to drop preconceived notions can help make these opportunities out of this world.
Securing leadership and employee buy-in immediately
An employee who happened to be watching the livestream flagged the moment. But at first, the Nutella team though it seemed too good to be true and considered whether it was a deepfake.
Nope. It was all real.
Now it was time to act.
President and Chief Business Officer Michael Lindsay led the way, quickly putting up a LinkedIn post on the Nutella fly-by.
“It is now confirmed – Nutella is officially out of this world!” Lindsay posted, along with a video of the moment.
Alessandrini said that Lindsay’s post broke the ice and set the tone for the campaign: have fun, move quickly and push boundaries.
From there, other Nutella employees began chiming in, elevating the content until LinkedIn News took notice. From there, the story just kept rocketing forward.
Clearing the decks for focused effort
Alessandrini leads a small team of just three people. They immediately dropped everything to focus on this opportunity.
“We understood the values of it, and our leadership gave us the license of, we will clear any roadblocks that get in your way as well. So everyone understood, literally, we got a cool moment that just came to us for free. We can’t drop the ball.”
Due to their longstanding partnership, Golin was already enmeshed in the day-to-day workings of Nutella’s social media. Listening systems were already in place and they already deeply understood the brand’s voice, which is all about spreading smiles.
The normal content approval process went out the window.
The brand and the agency both agreed that they would move forward with a strategy that forwent traditional brand messages.
“Let’s stay as part of the conversation naturally versus try to turn it into a brand message, which usually doesn’t go over well,” Alessandrini explained.
Hammonds added that they worked hard to keep messages focused on the accomplishments of the Artemis crew and mission rather than becoming too self-congratulatory.
What the Nutella team did on social media after their NASA moment
While strategy remained paramount, speed was important too.
Their first post went up just hours after the Nutella can was seen on screens around the world.
@nutella_usHonored to have traveled further than any spread in history 🚀 Taking spreading smiles to new heights ❤️
Their strategy leaned heavily on the actual footage, paired with “space sounds,” like the theme song from “The Jetsons” heard here. That post became Nutella’s most popular of all time, with more than 10 million impressions.
This was quickly followed by a bid for fan engagement, asking followers to reply for a chance to put their name on a custom jar of Nutella — something they also did for all the astronauts on the space mission.
Another critical part of their plan was engaging other brands. This was made easier due to Ferrero’s other in-house brands, as well as Golin’s relationships with other clients. In one instance, they were able to banter with Mission Tortillas — the vehicle the astronauts used to eat their Nutella.
It all created a fun atmosphere that people wanted to be a part of.
The keys to Nutella’s success
Nutella and Golin were able to respond quickly and efficiently due to several factors:
- Existing understanding of the brand and social listening
- Connecting leaders so they could move with speed
- Keeping it simple
- Engaging fans rather than just broadcasting
- Focusing on the real heroes: the astronauts
- Playing with other brands
“Whatever it is that comes your way, embrace it, ride the wave, take it where it goes and have fun,” Alessandrini said.
