2022 OmniShopper Awards: Collaborative: Brand-Retailer

Collaborative: Brand-Retailer
(Long-Term Partnership)

Campaign: Skittles Pride It Forward at Walmart

Brand: Skittles (Mars Wrigley)
Retail Partner: Walmart
Agency/Solution Provider: The Mars Agency

Skittles prides itself on being the favorite candy brand of Gen Z consumers, nearly three in four of whom believe that brands have a responsibility to stand up for social causes. Notably, LGBTQ rights are considered a top-five issue among this group.

Skittles’ annual “Pride It Forward” campaign at Walmart began in 2020 as a way for the Mars Wrigley brand to celebrate Pride month and allow the colors of the Pride rainbow flag to take center stage. A limited-edition Skittles Pride Pack with gray-scale packaging and all-gray candies was the centerpiece of a partnership that included a $1 donation with each Skittles purchase (up to $100,000) to GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization.

Although the inaugural campaign achieved strong results, some shoppers were confused as to why Skittles packages were missing their iconic rainbow colors. In year two, the Skittles brand team worked with six LGBTQ artists to design original Pride packages to be sold nationally in place of the all-gray designs, while Walmart spotlighted the package design from artist Mia Saine for exclusive content and artwork showcases. Her work was featured in the retailer’s online advertising and on a brand page (Walmart.com/SkittlesPride), where visitors could learn more about the artists and advocacy program.

In 2021, Walmart more than tripled chainwide distribution to 4,700 locations and provided incremental added-value digital media on Walmart.com. In 2022, the retailer worked with the Mars Wrigley team to drive stronger engagement with its own associates. The 2022 program was on track to surpass the previous year’s total of 577 million shopper impressions, which contributed heavily to the 1.5 billion total impressions of the national program.

Collaborative: Brand-Retailer
(Single Activation)

Campaign: SPK Mystery at Circle K

Brand: Sour Patch Kids (Mondelez International)
Retail Partner: Circle K
Agency/Solution Provider: Phoenix Creative

In the spring of 2021, the lingering influence of the pandemic was dampening sales and foot traffic at convenience stores. At the same time, Mondelez International’s Sour Patch Kids (SPK) brand was facing stiff competition from other non-chocolate candy brands in a crowded environment.

With overlapping Gen Z and Millennial core consumers, Sour Patch Kids and Circle K developed a mystery-themed “Secret Circle” program to engage shoppers at Circle K stores. The promotional centerpiece featured a mystery flavor Sour Patch Kids pack with a limited-edition SPK mystery flavor Polar Pop in a buy one, get one for $1 combo available only at Circle K.

Notoriously averse to traditional marketing, Gen Z and Millennials found a compelling twist in the Circle K program. SPK Mystery-themed creative invited every shopper to guess the mystery flavor, blanketing stores on signage, gas pumps, exterior signs, window clings, fountain beverage machines, shelf talkers and front-counter mats.

Meanwhile, “LIFT” checkout screens featured awareness media and an upsell offer to add SPK to the basket. Consumers could also earn points with SPK purchases and redeem them for prizes in a sweepstakes contest. In addition, a national geo-targeted digital program with high-impact ad placements and mystery-themed creative helped reach on-the-go shoppers.

The Secret Circle at Circle K program generated impressive sell-through and incremental sales that were well above expectations for both Sour Patch Kids and the overall category.

Campaign: CVS Positively Real

Brand: Dove (Unilever)
Retail Partner: CVS Pharmacy
Agency/Solution Provider: Arc Worldwide

CVS’ beauty and personal care trips have been declining for some time, in part because shoppers primarily associate the retailer with health, a perception further fueled by the pandemic. In fact, 78% of CVS shoppers’ annual spend in the beauty and personal care categories is not at CVS.

Unilever’s Dove brand set out to change this dynamic at CVS. The brand’s research uncovered a crisis in confidence among CVS shoppers, who faced a challenge in consistently expressing positive self-esteem. On the flip side, simple self-care activities like showering or styling hair could counteract self-consciousness, with 83% saying they feel more confident when they participate in a beauty or self-care routine.

“Positively Real” was based on the idea that Dove’s shampoo, deodorant and body wash products could be used as tools to empower self-love. The campaign celebrated the beauty of unretouched models in its creative and encouraged consumers to post and share unfiltered photos, using the hashtag #DovePositivelyReal. Social media micro-influencers promoted a Self-Love sweepstakes and linked their posts to a custom CVS Brand Shop page on CVS.com.

Digital CVS circular ads and off-site/on-site CVS media drove e-commerce traffic to the online environment. In stores, eye-catching endcaps and shelf-talkers engaged shoppers with positive mantras like “confident and capable” and “I can and I will” that were featured across all campaign touchpoints.

Dove portfolio sales exceeded expectations for the program, up 18.1% in unit sales, while display was secured in a total of 1,620 CVS stores. Positively Real generated a total of 11,148,026 impressions, driving increased engagement of both Dove products and the overall beauty category.