Case Study · CPG · Live Activation
Kraft Heinz: 8x Sales Lift at Brand Activation
How Emotion Intelligence turned a live consumer activation into a measurable, defensible sales outcome — delivering an 8x improvement in sales lift by identifying which emotional moments drove purchase behavior.
8x
Sales Lift
The Challenge
Kraft Heinz invests significantly in live brand activations — in-store demos, sampling events, and consumer engagement experiences that bring their products into direct contact with shoppers.
The challenge was familiar: they could count foot traffic, dwell time, and samples distributed. They could track sales in the window after an event. But they couldn't explain why some activations converted and others didn't — or which specific moments within an experience drove purchase intent.
Without that insight, optimizing the activation was guesswork. The next brief would be written on instinct, not evidence.
Ether's Approach
Ether deployed its Emotion Intelligence layer across the Kraft Heinz activation experience. Using Glimmers — lightweight, non-disruptive touchpoints that capture emotional signal without breaking immersion — Ether measured consumer emotional response at every stage of the activation journey.
01
Signal Capture
Glimmers touchpoints captured emotional response at each stage of the consumer journey — product encounter, engagement, sampling, and departure.
02
Insight Mapping
Ether's platform identified which moments correlated with high purchase intent signals versus passive or disengaged responses.
03
Activation Optimization
The Kraft Heinz team used these insights to focus activation energy on the moments proven to drive conversion behavior.
The Results
8x
Sales Lift
By identifying which emotional moments drove purchase behavior and optimizing the activation around those moments, Kraft Heinz achieved an 8x improvement in sales lift — measured against the same activation footprint at baseline.
Beyond the headline number, the Kraft Heinz team gained a replicable framework: a map of which activation elements generate emotional engagement and which produce passive attendance. That framework now informs future activation briefs — replacing instinct with evidence.
Measurement Methodology
Every Ether engagement follows the same four-step measurement logic:
Experience created interaction
The live activation created direct consumer touchpoints across product encounter, sampling, and engagement zones.
Emotion Intelligence interpreted emotional response
Glimmers captured emotional signals at each stage — measuring attention, valence, memory encoding, and behavioral intent without disrupting the experience.
Insight revealed intent and motivation
Ether's platform identified which specific moments in the activation journey correlated most strongly with purchase intent signals.
Business impact could be explained and defended
Sales outcomes were linked to specific emotional moments, giving the Kraft Heinz team a defensible explanation for why the activation worked — and a blueprint for replication.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Ether help Kraft Heinz achieve an 8x sales lift?
Ether deployed its Emotion Intelligence platform at a Kraft Heinz brand activation, capturing real-time emotional signals from consumers as they engaged with the experience. By identifying which moments drove peak emotional engagement and purchase intent, the team could optimize the activation flow and prioritize the touchpoints most correlated with sales behavior. The result was an 8x improvement in sales lift compared to baseline.
What does Emotion Intelligence measure at a brand activation?
Emotion Intelligence measures the emotional signals consumers express during a live brand experience — including attention, memory encoding, positive/negative valence, and behavioral intent. These signals are captured through Ether's Glimmers touchpoints without disrupting the experience, then analyzed to identify which moments drove genuine engagement versus passive participation.
Can Ether prove ROI for CPG brand activations?
Yes. The Kraft Heinz case demonstrates that Emotion Intelligence can directly link experiential marketing investment to sales outcomes. By measuring emotional response at the point of experience, Ether produces insight that explains why sales did or did not occur — giving CPG marketing teams defensible ROI data for their CFOs and procurement teams.
Ready to build your own proof?
See how Emotion Intelligence can turn your next activation into a defensible business case.