How do you make a low-interest consumer product — like salt — entertaining? Cargill, maker of Diamond Crystal® salts, may sell the No. 1 kosher salt brand to professional chefs. But to many consumers who think that any salt is just salt, it’s an uphill communications battle. Carmichael Lynch Spong leveraged Alton Brown, Food Network superstar and long-time fan of Diamond Crystal®, to engage Web-savvy food lovers and professional chefs with a digital-based “Salt 101” campaign.

Brown served as a credible third-party spokesperson in hosting the campaign’s ground-breaking, video-rich microsite, Salt101.com. A reservoir of witty instruction and culinary advice, the site provided a robust user experience that “guided” visitors through entertaining lessons in two stimulating educational areas. For example, in the site’s “kitchen,” Brown used, “The Proper Pinch” to show visitors how to precisely season foods with kosher salt the way professional chefs do, and invited them to give pinching a try in an interactive game. In the “laboratory” section of the site, Brown sprinkled historical facts and salt-related tips. Visitors also could take advantage of easy links to interact with friends via Facebook, Twitter, Stumbled Upon, etc.

The Salt 101 campaign was supported by search engine optimization, public relations, social media, magazine advertising, online advertising, targeted trade show events and underwriting of PBS’ America’s Test Kitchen. Within just a few weeks of the launch, results had surpassed expectations with 24 million earned media impressions, more than 50,000 visits and 45,372 unique visitors to Salt101.com; a coveted nomination for Favourite Web site Awards (FWA) Site of the Day; 3.4 million banner ad impressions; and coverage in Alton Brown fan social media and blogs.