The Scottish shortbread maker ramped up its marketing efforts over the festive season with a new strategic 360-marketing campaign. This included a partnership with STV to debut the brand’s first ever TV advert in Scotland, which aired on STV and STV player, reaching over 14 million people. The advert focused on the special tradition of sharing shortbread at Christmas with a modern, heartfelt family scenario to engage multiple generations of viewers.

Walker’s Shortbread Assortments, Gluten Free shortbread, Mini Bags and Mince Pies were revealed as firm shopper favourites this festive season. The brand’s limited-edition Walker’s Advent Calendars also saw sales double in the UK, alongside its Festive Tins.

Walker’s Prestige range performed very strongly (+62%), with the brand’s gifting (+21%), Travel Retail (+22%) and Out-of-Home (+177%) portfolio also performing well. To drive awareness out-of-home, Walker’s wrapped a tram in Edinburgh in its iconic tartan, weaving in modern illustrations of famous landmarks found across the Scottish capital, including Edinburgh Castle and Calton Hill, into the design.

A mix of paid and organic social media captured consumers attention and spread the ‘joy of shortbread’ at Christmas, with content going live on Instagram and TikTok, and an advert on YouTube. The brand also partnered with a range of influencers to deliver content to engage with target audiences and demonstrate the versatility of Walker’s Shortbread products for gifting, sharing and consuming over the festive season.

A life-sized snow globe, displaying famous Scottish landmarks made entirely from Walker’s Shortbread was also unveiled at Edinburgh Airport, bringing joy to nearly one million travellers passing through over the Christmas period.

Steve McCarney, commercial director at Walker’s Shortbread, said: “Christmas is a magical time, with shortbread itself a prominent feature in many households across the world. At Walker’s Shortbread, we want to keep this tradition alive but also show how versatile our shortbread is and the different ways it can be enjoyed over the festive season.

“By incorporating in-person and online activations, we are demonstrating how shortbread is a timeless treat for modern shoppers. Our multi-channel marketing campaign has helped us to show the fun side of our products, while spreading the ‘joy of shortbread’ to consumers all over the UK. We’re excited to see how we can build on this success and showcase Scotland at its finest in the year ahead.”