Case Study – Who wants fruit cake?

Let’s be real its … it’s hard to get excited about fruit cake. So when copywriter Gary Hennerberg had to help boost sales of the seasonal treat for the Collin Street Bakery of Corsicana, Texas, he discovered that taste tests proved that people enjoyed the product, but despised both the name and the very idea of fruit cake.

Time for a new premise.

So Gary did some digging and discovered that Collin Street had some bragging rights in the ingredient department.

The bakery used native Texas pecans in their cakes, from trees that grow next to a river or stream on small farms, instead of commercially-grown pecans.

Gary knew he had a story, and he wanted to see if it would help Collin Street Bakery increase their sales. He keyed in on how rare the pecans are to tell a compelling tale:

“From majestic pecan trees native only to a handful of Texas rivers and streams, soaring up to 150 feet in height and canopy, planted by mother nature as long ago as the Civil War.”

Sales increased by 60%, and tired old fruit cake became Native Texas Pecan Cakes — at least when delivered by the Collin Street Bakery.