Feeding HungryHouse’s appetite for growth

In 2013, online takeaway service, HungryHouse, was ramping up efforts to rival the dominance of Just Eat, and was actively looking to jolt diners into placing their orders online rather than over the phone. Data-driven and customer-focused, while the HungryHouse platform was national, the brand understood its customers at hyper-local level.  

The MNC value

The creative and media strategy needed to fundamentally change consumer behaviour: Just Eat, the market leader, was spending big with a brand-building strategy including sponsorship of peak shows, Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor. We needed to develop a differentiated strategy and a highly optimised campaign geared to daily, weekly and monthly patterns of takeaway buying.

We applied our forensic focus to HungryHouse’s core target audience – young adults between 16 and 34 – and established bespoke trading deals to maximise exposure during peak ordering times. We orchestrated TV sponsorship of The Big Bang Theory on E4 – precisely the right environment in which to build brand awareness and high frequency of messaging among a young, sociable audience. We knew they would be “second screening” – watching live programmes at peak times while using their mobile devices – which, combined with the ease of ordering via the app, fuelled strong response and conversion.

The results

• Over the course of our five-year relationship, we evolved a highly effective multi-channel strategy while adhering to strict ROI targets – delivering against short-term customer acquisition goals while growing brand awareness.
• In 2018, HungryHouse was gobbled up by rival, Just Eat in a deal worth up to £240m.

“MNC are a fantastic agency – they’ve embraced our demands incredibly well. We’ve really been able to get much higher ROI when it comes to media spend on TV through bringing  data and tech analysis into the way TV is bought and sold.”

Alice Mrongovius, CEO, HungryHouse