Contents
- Stirring up a Brand Revival
- From convenience to connection
- Rewriting the Rules of Relevance
- From Moments to Movement
- Mug Shots Moments
- The Pick Me Up Campaign
- Industry PR
- Looking Ahead – From Audience to Community
Stirring Up a Brand Revival
Traditionally a go-to cupboard essential, Mug Shot is synonymous with convenience, comfort, and healthier snacking.
But as eating habits changed and a variety of competitors flooded the market, Mug Shot had to find a way to adapt, enhance campaigns and stay relevant without losing its brand positioning within the market.
This is the story of Mug Shot’s evolution from a nostalgic quick fix into a modern-day pick-me-up, energising the lives of budget-conscious people juggling full schedules, fast meals, and faster decisions.
Employing a fresh narrative, smart influencer strategy, an always-on approach to digital, and experiential marketing, Mug Shot didn’t just keep up with its audience, it moved in step with them.
From convenience to connection
The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector evolves quickly, with consumer habits shifting and new competitors emerging almost daily.
With aggressive competitors multiplying and consumer expectations evolving, heritage alone was no longer enough. And from that pressure came a realisation – the story and strategy needed evolving.
Rewriting the rules of relevance
Our starting point was simple – Mug Shot didn’t need a rebrand, it needed a reframe.
The product was strong, and the audience existed. But the messaging needed to evolve to reflect the pace, humour, and habits of social media users preferring short-form video, snackable content, and real-time connection.
Cornerstone was brought in to translate an existing brand strategy and positioning into a full social brand refresh. Not as outsiders, but as strategic partners working closely with the Mug Shot team and their in-house stakeholders. We collaborated to reframe the brand’s role in the lives of busy people, with messaging that felt more human, more present, and more emotionally connected.
We developed a bold, always-on marketing strategy, incorporating refreshed messaging and creative across social media, designed to meet consumers in the moment, not just when they were hungry, but when they were scrolling, searching, or simply needed a break.
At the heart of the strategy were three core objectives:
1. Make Mug Shot a positive part of the daily rhythm – moving it away from legacy connotations of dated, and now irrelevant, weight loss regimes.
2. Build authentic engagement across the right platforms, with the right tone, and the right voices.
3. Drive brand consideration through a mix of high-reach awareness and low-friction community-led content.
So, we focused on targeting the already-defined key audience groups on social for Mug Shot:
1. Health-conscious snackers looking for lighter alternatives without the prep.
2. Time-poor 20 to 30-somethings navigating busy schedules, including students, in need of a convenient and reliable hunger tamer.
This informed our media mix, our creative tone, and our platform strategy, prioritising TikTok, Instagram, and experiential channels that could deliver both reach and relevance.
From moments to movement
Our strategy came to life through two major, multi-channel campaigns – Mug Shot Moments and The Perfect Pick Me Up campaigns.
Each campaign was tailored to where the audience was in both mindset and media habits.
Mug Shot Moments
In 2024, after a successful first year of partnership, we launched the Mug Shot Moments campaign, a year-long campaign designed to remind consumers that comfort could be quick, and that Mug Shot was there for the little breaks that get you through the day.
This campaign was a creative blend of influencer marketing, social storytelling, direct mail, experiential activation, and organic PR, all working together to build brand awareness, emotional connection, and cultural relevance.
This success wasn’t delivered in isolation. From creative concepts to campaign roll-out, our full-service approach meant our multi-disciplined teams worked together to ensure every touchpoint was joined up, consistent, and collaborative from start to finish.
Campaign highlights included:
• Mug Shot’s first influencer collaborations, combining relatable humour with lifestyle content.
• A full production shoot that saw TV grade ad production implemented.
• The launch of Mug Shot’s TikTok presence, tapping into Gen Z snack culture with playful, low-lift content.
• Wellness sampling packs distributed via direct mail, reinforcing Mug Shot’s stress-relief and convenience appeal.
• A live event in Leeds, featuring interactive sampling and a spin-to-win board, reaching 190k+ users with boosted content and handing out nearly 8,000 samples.
• Strategic PR outreach, securing coverage in lifestyle and food press that amplified campaign messaging beyond social channels and introduced Mug Shot to new audiences.
The result? More than just engagement. It was reconnection.
Instagram followers grew by 24%, content performance improved month-on-month, and Mug Shot saw its first wave of user-generated love since the brand’s early days, reigniting its place in everyday conversations.
The Pick Me Up campaign
By early 2025, the landscape had shifted once again. Audiences craved authenticity, energy, and brands that that understood their real-world challenges and ambitions.
Answering that call, we launched The Pick Me Up campaign, positioning Mug Shot from a simple snack to an empowering and energising food companion.
This fully integrated marketing campaign brought together creative storytelling, influencer collaborations, PR, and multi-channel activations to spark excitement and deepen consumer relationships.
Key elements of the campaign included:
• Mug Shot’s Pick Me Up competition saw a creative activation that drove buzz, encouraged community involvement, and generated organic, peer-to-peer conversations.
• A refined influencer strategy, balancing macro influencers with micro and nano influencers who built trust and deeper engagement, especially amongst mums, who became one of the brand’s most engaged audiences.
• A surge in user-generated content (UGC) and gifted influencer collaborations, which enhanced authenticity and helped Mug Shot break through the noise without heavy paid spend.
• Continued growth on TikTok, where gifted creators wove Mug Shot naturally into their everyday storytelling, driving strong engagement and fostering a vibrant, youthful community.
The campaign’s impact was clear – Instagram followers grew by 20% within six months, paid impressions topped 7.5 million, and engagement rates hovered at a strong 3%, compared to the 1.9% industry benchmark.
But more importantly, the brand’s tone evolved, becoming optimistic, grounded, and empowering. Perfectly aligned with how its audience lives.
Industry PR
Of course, consumers aren’t the only audience food brands need to engage with – grocery and retail sector audiences such as buyers and category managers are critical too.
We worked with the Mug Shot brand team on a range of NPD and new campaign press releases aimed at generating increased awareness and visibility of the Mug Shot rang within key industry publications.
Our PR team also worked on thought leadership pieces for The Grocer publication, helping to position Mug Shot an agile consumer-led brand with an evolving and responsive product portfolio.
Looking ahead – from audience to community
The success of Mug Shot’s evolution wasn’t just measured in impressions or follower counts. It was seen in how people started to feel about the brand again.
From nostalgic cupboard staple to everyday companion, Mug Shot had carved out a refreshed role in modern lives. And now, the focus is on building something even more powerful – a community.
As social media continues to evolve, it’s clear that engagement is no longer just about likes. Today, comments, saves, and shares carry greater weight, signalling a more meaningful connection with the brand.
By prioritising authentic interactions and fostering a sense of community, we’re ensuring that Mug Shot remains both relevant and relatable to its audience.
This forward-looking approach is supported by our full-service marketing model, where every channel and tactic are strategically aligned to work in unison.
Our objective-driven strategies are designed to complement one another, ensuring that each piece of activity contributes to a cohesive, joined-up brand experience.
By uniting creativity, data, and deep audience understanding, we’re not just building campaigns, we’re building lasting consumer relationships that drive measurable impact.
If you’re looking to make the right call on your marketing activities, get in touch.
As a full service marketing agency incorporating design, digital marketing, PR, print production and signage we offer our areas of expertise under strategic partnerships or to compliment the skillsets of in-house teams.
We’re renowned for our strategic and creative approach to achieve efficient, engaging and results-driven outcomes.
To find out more email us at clients@cornerstonedm.co.uk
Keep up to date with our client work and latest industry insights by connecting with Cornerstone Design & Marketing on LinkedIn.
What our clients say about us.
We’re proud of our extensive experience and expertise, but don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what our clients say about us.
We’d been really careful and thoughtful about our criteria and brief, and felt Cornerstone hit every single point, coming across in a down-to-earth, practical way while still showing understanding from strategy through to tactical execution. Our overall experience with the Cornerstone team is great because we feel really supported as a team.
Alison Robb, Cheetah Transformation
We have developed a great partnership with Cornerstone over the past 6 years and their dedication to our marketing needs and website development is evident in all aspects of our online presence. We appreciate their attention to detail and creative approach to all aspects of the business and look forward planning our new initiatives together.
Scott Bryce, Burnley Leisure & Culture
Cornerstone are a unique PR/ Marketing Agency who provide one of the most competitive holistic services versus many competitor agencies. The team are knowledgeable in their field of expertise, extremely creative, always ahead of the game, and great on tight deadlines. I would recommend this agency with no hesitation, their work speaks for itself!
Rekha Joshi, Dexcel