Olive oil. Open the pantry door in just about any Australian kitchen and you’re almost guaranteed to find at least one bottle on the shelf – from classic extra-virgin to more creative offerings such as lemon or chilli-infused. Surprisingly, while olive oil is a kitchen staple, its use was once perceived as limited. The Australian Olive Oil Association decided to tackle the situation head-on and enlisted the team at JOY to develop a creative, social-first campaign to switch up Australia’s culinary habits and get them to see good old olive oil in a new, trendy light.

Here, JOY head of strategy and insights Luisa Paton steps Marketing Mag through the campaign that positioned olive oil as the go-to ingredient to elevate anyone’s meal.

The situation

The Australian Olive Oil Association (AOOA) had a challenge on their hands: despite olive oil being a staple in many Australian kitchens, its usage was limited, with many Australians only using olive oil as a bread dipper or salad dressing. At the same time, poor harvests had led to record-high prices, and this, combined with cost-of-living pressures, had resulted in sales decline. Something had to be done, but with individual brands unable to tackle the category challenge on their own, the need for a collective industry solution became apparent.

The strategy: ‘Get Drizzling’ 

Introducing a new drizzling behavior in a cluttered food space is no small feat. Every scroll on social media seems filled with enticing recipes – those that look tasty but rarely get made. The discovery of a nuanced data point was the difference maker: ‘Australians took action if offered food silver bullets – simple food hacks and one-step solutions’. 

This insight drove the AOOA’s focus on positioning olive oil as the ultimate transformative ingredient: with just one drizzle, any dish could go from “blah” to “ahhh”.

The strategy to deliver this? Use a content-led, social-first approach to reach and engage consumers where food inspiration thrives. With a focus on driving cut-through and triggering behavior, the campaign was led by influencer-driven storytelling edited to dramatise the magically transformative effects of a drizzle of olive oil. 

Executing with impact

1. Getting Australia’s leading tastemakers on board
The influencer roster featured diverse, dynamic and vibrant food personalities. Led by Khanh Ong, with Stephanie Feher, Sophie Rindfleish, Mel Melbourne, Kayla La Manna, Malissa Fedele, Daniel Lamble and Lucy Rosenberg – a mix of chefs, home cooks and social media food influencers with substantial followings.Their mission was clear: to demonstrate how effortless and impactful a drizzle can be, inspiring followers to embrace this powerful culinary hack

2. Content dramatising the “blah” to “ahhh”
The campaign capitalised on high-impact, visually captivating social content to convey the transformative power of drizzling olive oil.

Key elements included:
• Visually striking before-and-after transformations, showing how just a drizzle of olive oil could elevate any dish.

• Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR)-driven sound design leveraged the sensory appeal and enhanced the experience of drizzling. It became visually and audibly satisfying.

• Snackable video content, an extensive library of quick, shareable hacks to demonstrate the versatility of olive oil.

These elements combined to make the act of drizzling olive oil not just a recipe step, but the star of the show.

3. Social-first – designed for shareability
Recognising that food trends spread quickly through social media, Get Drizzling maximised its impact by focusing on highly shareable content formats.

The campaign leveraged:
• Short-form, high-energy videos, designed for social media platforms.
• A playful, engaging tone, designed to encourage audience replication.
• Strategic media placements across high-traffic food platforms and influencer channels, designed to connect at key food moments.

This social-first approach ensured the campaign not only reached its audience, but also sparked conversations and encouraged consumers to share their own “drizzle” moments, amplifying the message even further

4. Distinctive branded social overlays
To tie all the campaign assets together and give the Get Drizzling initiative a sense of scale, distinctive branded social overlays were incorporated across all content.These overlays were designed to enhance the brand identity and further reinforce the olive oil message, ensuring that every piece of content – whether it was a video, recipe post or influencer shout-out – felt cohesive and on-brand.

The results

The campaign resulted in olive oil’s image as a versatile flavour enhancer and essential kitchen ingredient being established, and Australians drizzled more oil, more often.

Importantly for stakeholders, the campaign also proved that the AOOA could generate significant scale, cut-through and organic engagement – justifying long-term, multi-year industry investment.

Key takeaways

• Consumer behaviour shift: Shifting behavior is challenging, but delivering on consumer desires through easy-to-adopt one-step hacks offers the greatest chance for success.
• Content-led approach: Fit-for-platform and category content with vibrant appeal maximises engagement, shareability, and overall impact.
• Influencer storytelling: Partnering with a dynamic and diverse group of food personalities generates immediate interest, elevates the message, and sparks a ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO).
• Trend-driven, social-first execution: Short-form, snackable videos and strategic placements maximise both reach and impact.
• Branded consistency: Distinctive overlays and cohesive branding create a unified brand identity and sense of scale.

Luisa Paton is head of strategy and insight at JOY. An integrated strategist, Paton brings together more than 20 years of experience working in strategy, research and data across media, creative and research agencies.  

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