The Challenge
Thompsons Meats, a legacy brand serving South African homes since 1860, had all the flavour but needed a modern edge. While loved for its ready-to-eat meats, it was mostly seen as “school lunchbox stuff” or “just for sandwiches.” The brand needed a fresh digital voice, new visual identity, and a complete repositioning—one that could speak to everyone from old-school fans to trendy foodies scrolling TikTok for dinner inspo.
The Playbook
We came in with fire and flavour.
1.Website Revamp
We redesigned the brand’s website to better reflect its heritage and modern edge. The new platform showcased their product range, story, and most importantly, gave consumers food ideas through the “Taste Book”—a recipe hub with meals that slapped.
2.Instagram + TikTok Overhaul
We ditched the boring, brought in the bold. Our content strategy included:
– Slick cooking videos and tutorials that turned cold meats into full-on culinary adventures—romantic dinners, boozy brunch spreads, party platters, and epic hosting moments.
– Reels that showed the products in action: in pots, on platters, and in the hands of real people cooking real meals—not just sandwiches.
– Behind-the-scenes footage at local food festivals and product shots that gave supermarket aisle staples some serious sauce.
3.Cultural Relevance & Foodie Collabs
We tapped into the real ones—actual brand fans and food lovers like Ntleleng and Khanyi, who already loved the product. With them, we cooked up authentic, relatable content that built real trust and reach. Our collaboration with Chef Sne Moloi and nods to culinary legends like Dorah Sitole made it clear: Thompsons isn’t’ just lunchbox meat, its culinary main character energy.
4.Turning Heads Online
Even the brand watchers noticed. Thompsons was officially tagged online as “making polony cool again.” Yup, we turned the humble cold meat into a hot talking point.
The Results
1.Social growth: TikTok blew up with over with new followers and likes, while Instagram passed kept growing one recipe DM request at a time, with consistent engagement from foodies, fans, and creators.
2.Perception shift: Ready-to-eat meats became the main event. From hosting dinner parties to cute couple meals, our content redefined how people used ready-to-eat meats.
3.Consumer love: Feedback from both loyal fans and new followers confirmed the strategy was doing the trick—meals were being made, content was being shared, and the DMs were full of recipe requests.
4.Website traction: The updated platform saw traffic spike, and with each new recipe upload or campaign drop, engagement stayed strong.
