This week's egtabite puts the spotlight on an out-of-the-box initiative for the promotion of The Masked Singer TV show, launched by Ad Alliance and RTL in collaboration with the Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn (AH).

The Masked Singer has proven to be a very successful format throughout the European market and with the start of the new season in the Netherlands early October, the sales house and channel launched an innovative new campaign: The Masked Dinner Room.

Hidden videos

For the launch of the third season of the show on RTL4, millions of viewers were once again expected to tune in to unmask the singing characters in the family show. The concept of The Masked Dinner Room sought to provide viewers with extra hints on who the mysterious singers behind the mask might be.

Ahead of every new episode which airs on Fridays, the supermarket chain Albert Heijn sells branded themed meal kits. The recipe kits come with everything one needs to cook a healthy dinner and each dish is assembled from pre-prepared ingredients of the finest quality.

Each of the packages comes with a barcode, which unlocks a secret hint: a video message recorded in The Masked Dinner Room – a dining room where the Dutch presenters, dressed in extravagant costumes, provide clues to the contestants' hidden identities.

The extra tips can be found exclusively at Albert Heijn. With a barcode scanner, the AH app scans the barcode on the meal kit. This leads to a unique in-app page with hint videos. Every week on Thursday at midnight a new hint about one of the contestants is made available.

Branded meal kits

A consistent visual branding developed for the 10 themed packages makes them easily recognisable for customers, as they are released during the entire season from 11 October to 17 December. Ten different versions are made available, ranging from tomato soup or Mexican burritos to Italian lasagna and Japanese Terriyaki.

Johan van der Zanden, Director of Marketing and Communication at Albert Heijn: “For this campaign, we have a unique collaboration with RTL and Ad Alliance. 'The Masked Dinner Room' was developed especially for Albert Heijn,– a place where the Masked Singers characters are featured. In addition, customers can watch exclusive hint videos via our fresh meal kits. With this combination we offer our customers all the ingredients for a surprising Friday evening with a healthy and tasty meal and fun with the whole family.”

“We are very excited about working together with Albert Heijn on this creative 360 entertainment format – all the elements are put on the figurative table to provide fans of the show with both a great evening and a delicious dinner,” says Anna-Maria Vujinovic, Director of Sales Ad Alliance.