Unilever has tripled its investment in gaming in a bid to get Gen Z gamers to fall in love with vegetables.

Knorr, which is owned by Unilever, launched its award-winning #ModtheVeg campaign with spectacular results.

The German company best known here for its soups has revealed how it used video games to reach the next generation.

“Although Knorr is very well established, in some markets we’re still building our presence with younger generations,” explains Nicky Neerscholten, Global Head of Digital and Masterbrand.

The company realised Gen Z audiences spend more time on video games than they do watching TV.

“In order for marketing to make an impact, we need to make sure our brands show up where consumers play,” says Nicky.

“Gaming is a vital gateway to reaching them.”

As a result, Unilever has tripled its marketing investment in the gaming sector over the past three years.

The company had noticed that vegetables were attributed fewer health points in some of the world’s most popular video games than meat alternatives – indicating that in the gaming world vegetables were seen to be less valuable than meat.

To counter this Knorr teamed up with high-level streamers to start making vegetables more appealing.

They promoted the initiative through a campaign film.

But they also petitioned gaming studios like Epic Games, Activision Blizzard and Mojang Studios to give vegetables an in-game value boost.

But the real breakthrough came when gamers started building veggie ‘mods’ – free updates that alter the game’s code, allowing players to experience the game in a different way.

For example, in one game, a mod altered the weather so that it rained giant destructive vegetables.

In another, a mod created a suit of high-value armour including a radish helmet, broccoli shoulder pads and carrot trousers.

The campaign achieved staggering results, clocking up 1.1 billion earned reach, 95 million impressions and 78 million completed views of the livestreams.

Over 10,000 people played the various mods, with 26,000 hours of #ModtheVeg streamer content viewed in just 48 hours.

By the end of the campaign, brand awareness had risen by double digits with over 1,500 press mentions.

“The campaign created a powerful connection with younger consumers who are typically less familiar with Knorr as a brand,” explained Ms Neerscholten.

“The younger, gamer generation prepares food differently.

“They want fast, convenient and often all-in-one solutions that still deliver on taste and nutrition. Our mini-meals are the perfect match.”