Kind samples at Newcastle gig series with Sense

Healthy snack brand Kind is running a sampling campaign across a series of gigs held at The Virgin Money Unity Arena in Newcastle, which has been designed to host live events safely during the pandemic by enabling fans to adhere to social distancing guidelines. More than 50,000 Kind bars have been handed out to gig goers at the largest trial activity in the UK since the pandemic struck.

The campaign is being managed by global brand experience agency Sense, which was given the task of sourcing a large-scale appropriate trial opportunity for Kind – no easy task under the current challenging conditions.

“We pride ourselves on finding memorable engagement moments for brands, even in the prevailing climate,” said Sense Account Director Diana Petre-Mag.  “So when we discovered concert promoter SSD’s Steve Davis was planning to host the UK’s first socially distanced music and comedy gigs in the grounds of Newcastle Racecourse, we thought this offered Kind the perfect sampling opportunity.

“We’ve been working closely with Kind during lockdown and are delighted to be back in action in the real world at this COVID-safe venue, which provides a great opportunity to engage with consumers.”

Around 2,500 fans attend each gig, watching the performers from 500 platforms spaced two metres apart, each holding up to five people. A host of big names have performed during August and September, such as Sam Fender, Bill Bailey, Supergrass and Jimmy Carr. Unsurprisingly, the venue has attracted global media attention from a range of press outlets, including ITV, NME and Rolling Stone.

Commenting on the new sampling campaign, Cat Hann, Brand Manager at Kind said: “We were due to work with Sense across a number of festivals with our Powered by Kind campaign, which proved so successful last year. Of course, this hasn’t been possible, so we’re delighted they came up with this great chance to partner with The Virgin Money Unity Arena. It’s providing a great way to raise awareness of our existing and new products, and promote our mission of making the world a little kinder, one snack and one act at a time.”