UCOOK: Xhosa-fying Halloween

UCOOK, a South African meal-kit delivery company, was seen as "boujee" among potential isiXhosa (the 2nd most widely spoken first language in the country) speaking black consumers, even middle-class ones. This made them reluctant to make use of what is frankly a convenient service. To break down that perception, we had to make it feel relatable and accessible.
Agency: Machine_

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela

We saw an opportunity to bring UCOOK closer to isiXhosa speakers people on Halloween, to make it more relatable and accessible, by putting a twist on an old saying. “uSathana akalali engatyanga” (the devil doesn’t sleep until they ‘ve eaten”). On Halloween, we delivered meal kits to nine micro-influencers on Twitter who sometimes have hot (but never malicious) takes on topics. The drops had Halloween-themed elements and personalised messaging in isiXhosa that let them know “uSathana uzolala etyile” (the devil will sleep having eaten), thanks to UCOOK.

The micro-influencers shared pics of drops and its elements, as well as images and videos of them preparing the UCOOK meals, on their social media (including Instagram). After 24 hours, the reach was 510K and impressions at 1.4M. After 48 hours, reach was 809K while impressions were at 2.3M. On Twitter, a notoriously difficult platform for UCOOK to engage on, profile visits increased by 350% with mentions seeing a staggering increase of 415%.

As a subscription based service, the adoption process - when run through long-standing brand focused ambassadors - sees on average a 6-8 week conversion window. This campaign drove sign-ups within a week and saw product adoption from new users as well as further product purchases from existing users.