2021 Gold Best Launch Campaign
08 Dec 2021
Agency: VCCP
Client: Mondelez
Campaign Name: Cadbury Twirl Orange Presale
Campaign Overview
Launching Twirl Orange as a permanent stock-keeping unit, making it famous and appealing to a younger growth audience, was a difficult enough task on its own - but made formidable by the pandemic.
Strategy
After a limited 2019 release Twirl Orange wasn't ‘new news’, so any fresh hype needed to be engineered.
The initiative began with social listening on the 2019 limited release - which revealed the success of the bar came down to its absence of marketing.
A combination of organic social hype and scarcity drove people to hunt the bar across Britain, even prompting bidding wars on eBay.
Yet six months later social media was awash with anxious users afraid of the pandemic and political upheaval. Even brands spoke too much of "uncertain times”.
Inspiration for the campaign came from a category that understands escapism and generating hype: streetwear, which launches new products via pre-sell - conversation rather than conversion.
Creativity
To launch the limited-edition Twirl Orange, a collaboration with Twitter featured an early release of 10,000 bars to the public, with the buzz and excitement of the latest Supreme Drop.
The world's first pre-sale for a 69p chocolate bar came to life. The campaign cryptically teased Twitter users who’d failed to find a Twirl Orange when they were first released in 2019.
A Twitter heart-to-remind post enabled updates about the pre-sale to Twirl Orange fans and the wider target audience.
The pre-sale then took place via a livestream and digital queue hosted on the channel.
By replying to the livestream - which was full of frenzied tweets and a live countdown of remaining bars - while tagging @Cadbury_UK and including #TwirlOrangePresale, people secured a place in the virtual queue to buy a bar.
Every touchpoint was designed to contribute to the hype. The campaign borrowed art direction typically used in gigs and festivals. This was supported by strategic media buys that mirrored gig body language, from flyposters to plastering the pre-sale event date on the front of a concert venu
Results
Twirl Orange became the No. 1 chocolate bar NPD of 2020, bigger than the next four combined - despite only being in the market for 17 weeks.
It was also the first Mondelez NPD to be sold out at full price with no price promotions.
The campaign culminated in ROI of 15:1. It also generated massive engagement across social channels: 10,000 bars sold out in five minutes via a Twitter livestream.
The use of owned channels was as successful as paid.
eCRM received the highest-ever open rate achieved on Cadbury at 97%. Organic content spread naturally from Twitter to other social platforms: not just chocolate, but conversation too.
The Team
VCCP - Darren Bailes, Bailes Executive Creative Director - Chris Birch, Creative Director - Jonny Parker, Creative Director - Myles Vincent, Creative - James Rafter, Creative - Aurelien Pakula, Social Content & Influence Director - David Boscawen, Group Managing Director - Matt Smith, Business Director - Gen Hole, Senior Account Director - Matt Reed, Account Manager - Xanthe Fuller, Account Executive - Claire Hutchinson, Deputy CSO - Ollie Gilmore, Group Planning Director - Luke Alexander, Grose Planner - Oli Waterstone, Group Planning Director - Alex Grieves, Planning Director - Jon Dewart, Integrated Project Director - Ben Waters, Senior Creative Producer - Lee Bodell, Senior Designer
VCCP CX - Lucy McDougall, Digital Producer - Will Aslett, Associate Creative Director - Simon Bostock, Designer - Mirry Bobeva, Designer - Linas Jovaisas, Designer - Phil Beaman, Technical Director - Yanul Hoque, Technical Lead - Mike Beckman, Developer
Guud - Edgar de Leon, Founder - Pablo Acuña, Founder & CTO
Mondelēz - Claire Low, Marketing Activation Director - Nathalie Chuard, Senior Brand Manager - Radhika Pai, Brand Manager - Colin O'Toole Associate Director Marketing Cadbury UK&I
Contributors
Mondelez International, Guud, Carat, Golin and ELVIS