• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, November 7, 2013

This year, Kraft Foods' Philadelphia Cream Cheese is for the first time shifting its strategy for the holidays — its most critical season — to making digital the core focus of its marketing/advertising campaign.

The hub for this year's campaign is an interactive microsite where consumers can explore multimedia content providing holiday tips and ideas on topics including cheesecake baking, entertaining and home décor.

Each "room" within the site features an "influencer" who has collaborated with Philadelphia to curate content based on her own personality. 

Celebrity chef Sandra Lee; Bri Emery, founder and editor of designlovefest; and Alice Currah, creator of SavorySweetLife.com [shown above], offer recipes and tips that reflect “decadent,” “fresh” and “classic” sensibilities, respectively.

In the past, the brand's holiday campaigns have consisted primarily of television ads, with print and some digital support, according to Philadelphia and digital agency 360i, the lead agency on the new "Cheesecake Cheer" campaign.

This year, the digital hub will be supported by print ads, along with engagement activities on the brand's social media communities (including Facebook and Twitter) and its other media properties (including the Philly brand area on the Kraft recipes site); paid online advertising/custom partnerships on targeted sites such as TasteofHome.com and Dash; paid social ads and search; and PR. No TV advertising is in the plan.

In addition, the three influencers will promote their content on their own blogs and social properties. 

The decision to focus on digital content was based in part on research showing that during the holiday season, people search for cheesecake recipes nearly as often as they seek general lifestyle-related content, like holiday entertaining tips. The Cheesecake Cheer site provides a central destination for both holiday baking and entertaining tips.

Importantly, the shift also reflects the brand's having seen better efficiencies with digital in combination with traditional media spend, reports 360i.

Philadelphia is also offering an exclusive digital cookbook, available for download at CheesecakeCheer.com, featuring dessert recipes from chefs including Sandra Lee, Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger, David Burke and others. 

The cookbook benefits Share Our Strength’s "No Kid Hungry" campaign. 

For the campaign, 360i is being supported by Roberts & Langer, acting as the traditional media agency; Henson Consulting on PR; and Starcom USA on media. Production firm Heist created the online video content, under the direction of Roger Scott.