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OREO

Letting WONDER LOOSE


Jay Chiat – National Strategy
SUMMARY
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By late 2012, OREO had all but reached its cookie ceiling. With 100 years of equity,
impressive market share and a growing global presence, nothing was broken. But entering
our second century of life, our ambition had grown.

OREO was the world’s favorite cookie but to become one of the world’s most iconic brands,
we had to tell a bigger story.

The Wonderfilled strategic platform builds upon the brand’s foundation of childlike
imagination and warm family moments, but it elevates it to a universal — and more creatively
flexible — emotional territory: wonder. It positions OREO as a token of seeing the world with
open eyes and a curious heart — a meaningful reminder to all of us, regardless of age.

This renewed focus has contemporized the brand and sharpened our point-of-view. It has
broadened our appeal, outperforming all expectations. With double-digit sales growth,
significant gains in core equity measures and expanded brand relevance, OREO is now well
positioned for the future.

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OUR CHALLENGE
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When You’re On Top, You have to Wonder: “Is this all there is?”
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December 2012. OREO stood atop the cookie pile. All over the world. It was the
globe’s favorite, enjoyed in a hundred countries and worth $2B. In a happy
coincidence, the brand turned 100 that year, celebrating in style with a year-long
celebration campaign that netted a Cannes Grand Prix. But once the birthday glow
wore off, the brand was left wondering what the future held.

What’s next?

Is there anywhere to go but down?

OREO’s equities were iron-clad. For a century the brand had stood for “childlike
delight.” Simple moments of family bonding. But over time, that imagery had become
more nostalgic than current. The carefully choreographed ritual — “Twist, Lick,
Dunk” — had been a focal point of the advertising for decades. It had helped build
product equity but was limiting when it came to building richer, more contemporary,
more emotional connections with new audiences.

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The brand needed broader fields in which to roam, new spaces that still felt natural.
We needed an idea that would appeal to a wider audience, unify the brand voice, and
position OREO for the next 100 years.

We wanted to move from iconic cookie to iconic brand. Coca-Cola is not a soda, nor
is Levi’s just a pair of jeans. These brands were our benchmarks. But in moving
upward, we risked everything we had built thus far. A hundred years, and billions of
dollars.

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INTO THE BIG LEAGUES

In moving from classic cookie to iconic brand, we needed to map out a new, larger
territory. The danger, as always, is laddering up too high, floating into the ethereal
benefit realm and becoming disconnected from the grounding of the OREO DNA.

We looked inward, not outward — to the core of the brand. Consumers can tell us
their experiences with the brand, but often miss the meaning. We knew from them
that OREO was surrounded by cues of innocence and optimism — glasses of milk,
after school snacks, doting parents. A simpler world, surrounded by an innocent glow.
In execution, these associations had nearly always been relegated to childhood.

But OREO isn’t a champion of a life stage. Yes, the brand stands for a virtue found in
childhood, but it’s universal and longed for by all. This feeling of childlike delight
grows from a universal value: Wonder. It is the ability to experience the world around
us with open eyes and a curious heart.

For children, the extraordinary is everywhere. As we grow older, it grows rarer, limited
to only the greatest marvels. But that virtue is not limited to childhood; it is merely
most natural there. Adults too have the capacity for wonder…and perhaps we are
even more in need of it.

OREO, with it’s 100 years of rich heritage, has the credibility to be that
continuous reminder, a catalyst for seeing the world anew. We can help people of
all ages see the world with wonder.

We’d found our purpose and our consumer facing platform: Wonderfilled.

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LETTING WONDER LOOSE ON THE WORLD
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We wanted to achieve a scale and dimension unlike anything OREO had ever
attempted. The Wonderfilled platform builds upon the brand’s foundation of childlike
delight and imagination. The challenge was to take this strategic platform and
translate it to a universal and flexible creative territory.

A Change in Perspective

Helping people of all ages see the world with openness and curiosity became our
mission. using OREO as the catalyst for a change in perspective.

We began with a simple question…

I wonder if I gave an OREO to ________?

What might happen? Something as seemingly insignificant as sharing an OREO —


this token of wonder — just might change someone’s perspective for the better.

Universal Stories

We launched the idea with a :90 anthem piece on television, in theaters and online. It
featured universally familiar characters that could use a change in perspective like
the Big Bad Wolf and a thirsty vampire. The insightfulness and entertainment value
of the perspective shift determined its inclusion in the campaign. We wondered what
would happen if we gave an OREO to them. Would the Big Bad Wolf have a change
of heart, stop his felonious ways and use his talents for good? Would a vampire
select milk as his beverage of choice?

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We followed the launch with relatable stories of a change in perspective. We looked
for stories that helped the audience apply the ideas to their own life. Each story
tapped into a familiar moments in life, like Father’s Day, a break-up or the first day of
high school.

Would a dad let his young daughter stay up just a little past bedtime for a playdate?
Would a lost love return? Would all the typical high school melodramas give way to
acceptance and unity, even for a day? We widened the appeal of the brand, speaking
to more people with greater conviction.

Iconic Elements

Creatively, the combination of meticulously crafted animation and “earworm quality”


music were our tools for provoking a positive change in perspective. Both the
imagery and lyrics aimed to surprise, with unexpected — even provocative —
elements.

Our target was universal (befitting an icon), so we didn’t limit ourselves to a single
style or genre. Each piece explored a different arrangement of the melody, a new
artist collaboration, and a unique visual aesthetic...from sweeping and anthemic, to
sweet and intimate, to contemporary and cool. This multi-media platform has
spanned from print to broadcast, to social media, Spotify, Soundcloud and even 250
acapella performers singling live in NYC with Owl City.

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THE RESULTS
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The Wonderfilled campaign has smashed all expectations, impacting culture and
significantly growing the business.

In the three weeks post-launch, total media impressions climbed to a staggering


56MM, more than double our benchmark for an equity campaign1. Media coverage
of the campaign included The New York Times, Creativity Online, Ad Age, and all 4
TV spots were recognized by AdWeek as “ad of the day”.

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The new evolution of OREO worked wonders on the brand equity. Social media
chatter was overwhelmingly positive. The buzz from the campaign increased
OREO’s positive sentiment 12% over benchmark2. Within the first 48 hours, the
Anthem TV spots were shared 260% above brand average. And during the four
month launch period, Twitter following more than tripled3.

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1 Cension, May 2013.
2 Radian6, May2013. Positive sentiment benchmark = 55%
3 Radian6, May2013. Percent above average video benchmark for OREO.
The Wonderfilled campaign completely reenergized OREO and let us take our seat as
one of the world’s top brands. Sales far exceeded our projected goals. In fact, we
over-delivered our sales target of 8.1%, reaching 13.2%4. During this period the brand
gained +1.6 share points of the cookie category for Mondelez, and helped to drive
30% of total cookie category growth, proving to our retail customers that we had
not yet reached the cookie ceiling5. (Timeframe May-August)

In addition to sales goals, we saw a significant lift in brand perceptions with the wider
audience we craved. Consumer response on purchase intent, uniqueness and
relevance were all up significantly among the moms and young adults exposed to the
ad campaign (vs. those not exposed)6. This was particularly impressive given that
responses were based purely on advertising and excluded product touch-points.

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The Wonderfilled strategic platform allows OREO to live up to its iconic stature.
We’re no longer talking about our cookie, but letting the cookie talk. And as we
continue into the next 100 years, OREO has even more to say and perspectives to
change. We’ll show the world is full of wonder, and that we are all Wonderfilled.

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4 SAP Spark Reporting, May-August 2013
5 Nielsen AOD xAOC May-August 2013
6 IPSOS Brand Graph, June 2013
THANKS.

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