Professional Documents
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BBDO TwixBites HM
BBDO TwixBites HM
N D #
TE S IZE A
IX B I
TW ROM
F
O DUCT
NE W PR REAT
KING A E TO G
TA LAT
THE BUSINESS SITUATION:
A NOT-SO-BITE-SIZED PROBLEM
With increased interest in overall health and easily controlled snacking portions, the only segment growing in the
otherwise flat chocolate category is “bite-sized.” 1
In 2011, Hershey’s introduced their top-performing brands (Reese’s, Kit Kat and Rolo) in a smaller format, and MARS,
a market leader, found itself reduced to a bit player in bite-size. In defining a new segment and satisfying a consumer
desire, Hershey’s gained almost 2 share points quickly through this reinvention of their portfolio.
Moreover, Hershey’s spent $87M in media against their bite-sized portfolio – an incredible investment in a new seg-
ment – and outspent us 3 to 1.2
We were outmaneuvered, overdue, and outspent. We needed a plan – and fast - to ensure that we stayed our ground
despite growth from our chief competitor.
1
Business Wire Report. US Chocolate Industry 2013-2018: Trends, Forecasts and Opportunity Analysis. May 14, 2015.
2
Partner Agency Media Report.
THE INSIGHT:
A PREDICAMENT BECOMES A PERK
Bite-sized chocolate wasn’t new news to consumers – by late 2013, when we were getting ready to launch TWIX Bites,
people were already used to seeing Hershey’s brands in these smaller sizes, and that’s what was keeping us up at night.
How were we going to launch a new product that wasn’t going to feel all that new?
As with any new product, we conducted focus groups to find out what they liked or disliked about TWIX Bites. We
went in expecting to learn about the product’s shape, size, taste, and texture.
It came from listening to consumers’ unprompted responses, when they tried the product. They kept asking us the
same question, again and again.
It was that they couldn’t believe that TWIX, one of the category’s most iconic brands, hadn’t done this already.
To them, the idea was simple – so simple, in fact, that it was downright funny we missed it.
We had our answer, staring us in the face. We couldn’t go back in time and change the past.
But we could offer up reasons for what might have caused the delay in the first place.
O S
VI D E
3
Beacon Ad and Brand Tracker 2012.
THE ANSWER:
RETRO RELEVANCE, IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME
#THROWBACKTHURSDAY:
CELEBRATE OUR LATENESS
We knew this hashtag was popular amongst our social circles, but soon learned the spread of this trend. With over
228MM photos hashtagged #throwbackthursday as of May 2014, this was clearly a phenomenon worth tapping into.
Once we knew we wanted to utilize the #throwbackthursday hashtag, we needed to focus on just the one day –
to credibly play on #throwbackthursday, the message had to match the medium.
We had our content - four :15 videos, which were uniquely designed
to run on social media. The videos were hosted on YouTube, and
were amplified with pre-roll purchased on Thursdays, to drive
additional, concentrated reach of the content.
On Facebook, where Twix has an existing presence, we utilized
promoted posts, only running on Thursdays; additionally, we
created a Twix Instagram account to push out the videos where
#throwbackthursday was born…on Thursdays.
But to really drive additional reach for the idea, we needed a partner
with as much equity in nostalgia as the stories we were telling –
BuzzFeed Rewind, the sister site to BuzzFeed, that features only
content relating to nostalgia and retro cues. They helped us craft
four unique posts, populated with nostalgic content, which were
posted and bumped to the top of the feed, only on Thursdays.
By combining a culturally-relevant idea with the placement-relevant
hashtag and content partners, we could amplify the TWIX Bites
launch, driving earned reach for the idea and grabbing the attention
of our key demographic simultaneously.
THE RESULT:
AN EXTRA-RELEVANT CAMPAIGN, BUILT ON PURELY RETRO CUES
The launch of Twix Bites was a tremendous success; by using social media to capture our crucial under-35
demographic, we were able to punch far above our media weight:
campaign.5
I wanna be your puppy This is a very
◊ On YouTube, paid media purchased on Thursdays fueled good campaign. If you don’t like it, you
are either lying or dumb.
4X the amount of organic views of TWIX Bites #TBT
content.6 MsUsagi513 “No wait!”
Oh boy! That brought back memories.
4
YouTube #TBT Campaign Data, October 2014, data runs 8/14/14 – 8/31/14. 7
BuzzFeed Campaign Report, October 2014, data runs 8/14/14 – 8/31/14.
5
Facebook #TBT Campaign Data, October 2014, data runs 8/14/14 – 8/31/14. 8
BuzzFeed Campaign Report, October 2014, data runs 8/14/14 – 8/31/14.
6
YouTube #TBT Campaign Data, October 2014, data runs 8/14/14 – 8/31/14.