MANILA – Studies by marketing communications company J. Walter Thompson show that 81 percent of millennials value experience over material items and 72 percent would rather spend money on an experience. As experience supersedes material things, young consumers need to have more impact on the senses. The agency built on these insights to create the multi-awarded KitKat Breaker Bench campaign.
The campaign called for the installation of 500 KitKat Breaker benches in Metro Manila malls and parks in the busiest business districts last year. Various designs that appeal to Filipinos with different tastes and personalities popped up – like a bench with built-in working piano keys and another with a built-in guitar for the musically-inclined; seesaw benches and rocking benches for the playful Filipinos; and mini soccer pitch benches for the sports lovers.
Recently bagging a Bronze Spike in this year’s Spikes Asia, the KitKat Breaker Bench campaign has been in a winning momentum. Aside from Spikes Asia, the campaign also garnered three metals from the prestigious 2016 Asian Marketing Effectiveness and Strategy (AMES) Awards—it won Silver for Innovative Use of Media, Bronze for Integrated Use of Media and Bronze for Media Innovation. On the same night, it also collected more awards at the Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards in Manila. The campaign earned a Silver in Outdoor, and three Bronzes for Insight Strategic Thinking, Creative Effectiveness and Brand Activation.
Traditional advertising no longer cuts it
The success of the KitKat Breaker campaign proved that traditional marketing no longer works among millennials. In today’s digital world, where almost everything is online, millennials are increasingly putting a premium on sensory stimulation. Rather than amass tangible objects, they would rather amass experiences.
Strategic amplification of the campaign used synergized media touchpoints to ensure that the message would be widely spread.
A map of the benches was uploaded on the KitKat.ph site and on the GPS app, Waze, to let people know the location of the nearest Breaker bench. Millennials excitedly shared their breaks online, generating more than 6.9 million views (Facebook and YouTube) and over 262 million impressions across different social media platforms.
Reaping success from taking a break
In no time, the KitKat Breaker benches were centers of attraction. Through the hashtags #mybreak and #kitkatbench, word on the campaign quickly spread, encouraging more consumers to take more breaks.
Mirroring the success of the campaign, KitKat sales shot through the roof, overtaking competition for the first time in the fiercely competitive chocolate segment, and ending 2015 with its highest sales in 6 years with 72.9 million KitKat fingers sold.
Marketing to Millennials
“People’s perspectives are constantly changing as the world changes around them. Millennials, who live most of their lives online and are found to be experiencing more stress than their predecessors, have different expectations from brands. This is why we constantly seek to probe their thoughts so that we could connect with them in a meaningful way,” said Golda Roldan, General Manager of J. Walter Thompson Philippines.
“We brought to life the brand’s break philosophy and created an immersive and shareable experience for millennials. By letting people live and experience what a KitKat break truly means, the campaign was able to generate enthusiasm for the brand and rise above the clutter.”
The Philippine KitKat Breaker Bench campaign continues to impress and garner global recognition as it has also been shortlisted in the Warc Prize for Asian Strategy 2016. Warc features best practices from respected industry sources such as Cannes Lions, Effie Worldwide and 4A’s.
