The Brief
Cornetto wanted to explore ways to express their new brand proposition, ‘Creamy & Crunchy… the perfect match’ throughout their customer experience by using multisensory design.
The Insight
If a food makes a sound in the 1—2kHz frequency range it’s described by consumers as crunchy. Anything higher pitched is described as crispy. The Cornetto cone clocked in at 5kHz (crispy, not crunchy…)
The Execution
I conducted a consumer research study in Cornetto’s four key markets: the UK, Italy, Turkey and China to confirm that the ‘perfect crunch’ insight was valid within the specific context of ice cream cones.
This allowed me to create a sonic development brief for Unilever R&D outlining exactly what sound the cone should make when bitten into.
The Results
After 18 months’ work, R&D came back with a new and improved cone that they claimed was their ‘crunchiest ever’.
A final round of consumer testing confirmed that the new cone produced the perfect 1—2kHz crunch and was judged to be significantly more premium and taste significantly more intense as a result.
Why bother with all of this? Consumers indicated that they’d be willing to pay 20p more for the new crunchier cone.
Following a brand refresh for summer 2018, all Cornetto products across the globe now bear the scientifically validated “Perfect Crunch” seal.
My “Perfect Crunch” sonic principles have since been applied throughout the customer experience – from packaging materials to TV commercials.
