A cheesy April Fool’s Day with Wook

The Challenge

We know (and love!) that the Wookey Hole team are always up for new, fun and out of the box ideas, and April Fool’s Day presented the perfect opportunity to do something new. ADPR led the way, developing the idea from start to finish, turning it from concept to reality, all whilst keeping Wookey Hole’s unique and distinct charm at the heart of the idea. ADPR developed a creative idea around the ageing of the cheese in the Wookey Hole caves and how it had infused visitors with unique and healing skincare properties, and that products made with this cheese would be sold at Wookey Hole, alongside the introduction of a world-first, ‘Wookey Hole Spa’. This idea cleverly intertwined with the roots of Wookey Hole, connecting the magical stories of the Witch of Wookey Hole, the deep and rich history of the caves, and the sale of the cave-aged cheese, together to creating a unique – and believable – concept.

The Solution

Working with a graphic designer, we developed a “Cave Aged Beauty Box” that would be launched alongside the news release and stunt. The finished product was a Fromage Face Mask, Cheese-on-Toes Feet Pedicure kit and a set of Cheese and Cracker Exfoliating Scrubs. These products were then developed into graphics to be used across all channels.

This content was further supported by “before and after” photos of a member of the Wookey Hole team who had “experienced” the benefits of this reverse-aging. Ellen Ramsay, granddaughter of Gerry Cottle and Marketing Executive at Wookey Hole, was the face of the campaign, and had her photos edited to add additional elements to the stunt.

ADPR drafted a news release to bring all of these elements together, in a creative and inspiring piece. This was pitched to key media contacts, ahead of the 1^st of April under embargo, and we worked hard to secure a collaboration with a local influencer who was “invited” to the exclusive opening of the Wookey Hole Spa. We sourced a local influencer with a family orientated account and audience, and negotiated a series of social posts throughout the day across their social channels, as well as a blog review on her blog, using assets generated by ADPR.

The influencer’s posts were a big success, generating discussion around the cheese infused products and spa, with numerous accounts being fooled, commenting on their desire to visit the “new spa”.

We further supported the Wookey Hole team by drafting social media content with different angles to be posted throughout the day, alongside the press release about the new spa and cave aged beauty box, containing product photos.

The Results

The Wookey Hole April Fool’s Day campaign yielded great results. The influencer achieved a potential reach of 20,000 through their posts, and our earned media articles secured substantial attention, with a potential audience reach of 1,650,000, solidifying our presence in the public eye.

Using the assets and content drafted by ADPR, Wookey Hole’s social media channels recorded a surge in activity, amassing a potential reach of more than 319,000 on April Fool’s Day. Social media engagement skyrocketed by an impressive 227%, and was accompanied by a substantial net audience growth of 118% across all platforms.

We can’t wait to get started on on next year’s April Fool’s campaign! We’re eager to build upon this year’s success and continue our journey of captivating audiences with our imaginative campaigns.