Tweeters
Star In Wheat Thins TV Ads
by Karlene Lukovitz,
Kraft
Foods/Nabisco Wheat Thins will take social media marketing integration to a new
level this week, when it debuts the first of at least two 30-second national TV
commercials featuring consumers who have tweeted positively about the brand.
The TV spots
employ two of three videos already posted on Wheat Thins' "The Crunch is
Calling" YouTube channel and in a tab on its Facebook page, which have
collectively drawn more than 623,000 views since being posted just over three
weeks ago.
The videos show a
team of brand representatives, in a van prominently displaying Wheat Thins'
"The Crunch Is Calling" theme, tracking down and surprising tweeters
who have indicated their attachment to the crackers. Each tweeter is presented
with a Wheat Thins gift that ties into the content of his/her tweet.
Each video starts
with a close-up of a screenshot showing an actual brand-related tweet (the tweeter's
"handle" is visible), with the mobile team discussing the tweet's
content as they arrive to have a close encounter with a fan.
The first video to
be aired as a TV spot (for two weeks, starting July 26) shows a tweet from
Tabitha, a young woman who had lamented: "AAAHHHH ... I'm outta Wheat
Thins ... Mi [sic] life is officially over!" As she opens her front door
to the Crunch team and verifies that she indeed tweeted that message, an entire
pallet of Wheat Thins boxes is being deposited in her driveway -- the brand's
gift to ensure that she has plenty on hand for the foreseeable future. As the
team zooms away, the stunned but smiling fan gives them the thumbs-up as she
stands beside the pallet, with a dumbfounded neighbor looking on.
The second video/TV
ad captures the team presenting a set of custom-made "Crunch is
Calling" headphones to Timmy (on a restaurant deck among
friends/onlookers), who had tweeted: "Does anyone else have to turn up the
volume when they eat Wheat Thins? Someone needs to invent crunch-proof
headphones." After testing the headphones (a brand rep crunches a Wheat
Thin, amplifying it through a megaphone), Timmy is left eating a cracker as he
wonders aloud: "Don't I have to sign anything?" This ad will begin
airing Aug. 30.
A third video --
which may or may not be used for a TV ad -- shows the team surprising Dan, who
had tweeted that he was using a Wheat Thin to pick his air guitar, with a Wheat
Thins-branded guitar case containing ... nothing. Dan demos his cracker-pick
air-guitar moves, and also receives a custom Wheat Thins box bearing his photo
and tweet.
The brand is being
mysterious in responding to social media queries from fans wondering how Wheat
Thins located the folks shown in the videos ("The videos are the real deal,
but, unfortunately, we can't reveal our intervention secrets!"), but a
spokesperson confirms that the subjects were tracked down with the help of
their Facebook friends and family members.
Interestingly, to
enhance the surprise factor, Wheat Thins chose to video consumers who were
selected based on "random" tweets picked up about the brand, rather
than approaching Wheat Thins Twitter followers/Facebook fans.
The TV spots will
be aired on a variety of network prime-time shows and cable outlets with high
viewership among the recently repositioned brand's new core target audience,
women and men age 25 to 45, reports Jim Low, director of wheat snack crackers
for Kraft Foods.
The videos will
also be employed in new online advertising, as pre-rolls for Web-posted
episodes of targeted TV shows. Adjacent ad blocks will encourage viewers to
click into the brand's Facebook page/Twitter presence.
The social
media-driven videos and their use as TV spots and pre-rolls represent a natural
next step in the evolution of the brand and its marketing, Low tells Marketing
Daily.
The brand's
repositioning process began over a year ago, when Wheat Thins used consumer
research to identify the cracker's crunch, flavor and texture as its key
attractions to a younger and more gender-balanced demographic group.
Last summer, the
brand introduced product changes to further enhance its appeal to this group
(adding more whole-grain content to many varieties and eliminating high-fructose
corn syrup); unveiled a more contemporary package design; and launched its
"Crunch is Calling" tagline and an integrated campaign that included
crunch-focused TV spots featuring young adults.
Low reports that
efforts in this year's first half focused on in-person engagement with the
target audience through event sponsorships -- including high-visibility
sponsorships during March's NCAA tournament and June's Bonnaroo Music and Arts
Festival (where Conan O'Brien serendipitously mentioned the brand from stage).
The TV campaign
and events helped drive engagement with Wheat Thins' new, app-heavy Facebook
fan page (which has drawn nearly 111,000 fans since its launch in December
'09), as well as its new Twitter. com/crunchiscalling presence (about 900
followers to date) and its revamped wheatthins.com site.
The tweeter
videos/TV spots/pre-rolls are designed to build on that engagement. "The
social media conversations about Wheat Thins and viral effect are really
underway now, and the enthusiasm for the brand is very clear," says Low,
noting that celebrities (including "American Idol"'s Kris Allen and
R&B singer Chris Brown) have tweeted about the brand.
"These
conversations continue to become increasingly important, and we're actively
engaged in them on an ongoing basis" -- taking care to engage as a
meaningful participant, rather than come off as promotional or intrusive, Low
adds.
To date, all signs
point to substantial success in engaging the new target audience via social
media and the other "Crunch" marketing efforts, according to Low.
Importantly, these younger fans view Wheat Thins as a snack product to be
enjoyed on an everyday basis, in contrast to the brand's traditional consumer
base of women 45 and older, who viewed it "just as a traditional
cracker," he points out.
Escape Pod
developed the new videos, and AKQA implemented social media/online elements.
Edelman handles the brand's public relations.
For
more information visit www.mediapost.com
