Oreo Up to the Centennial Marketing Challenge

Northfield, Ill. — In planning for Oreo's 100th birthday this spring – the famous cookie was "born" in New Jersey in March 1912 – Kraft Foods' Nabisco division explored the role of childhood memories, commissioning a special "Global Spirit of Childhood Report" that surveyed more than 7,000 parents worldwide.The East Hanover, N.J.-based Kraft subsidiary found that the vast majority of parents believe today's kids are growing up too quickly, and many feel the spirit of childhood is on the decline not only for kids, but for grownups. With its Oreo campaign, Nabisco chose to celebrate the kid in all of us. "As we head into [Oreo's] next century, it's our continued mission to find more ways to enjoy carefree moments of family fun," says Danielle Brown, senior associate brand manager.In what Brown called the first "truly global" effort for the brand, Oreo has carefully woven the campaign through a variety of marketing channels along the path to purchase. In the social networking realm, for example, Oreo's Facebook fans have been encouraged to share photos, stories and videos in the "Oreo Moments Gallery" at Oreo.com. All year long, the "Millions Moments Meter" on Facebook tracks the submissions so fans can see what others are doing around the world (e.g., a father and daughter sharing an Oreo cookie and milk via a webcam).Meanwhile, the brand partnered with Target for the first time in March and April, allowing Facebook fans to send a virtual Oreo gift, called "Cookie Grams," to friends with smartphones – redeemable at Target. "It's a first-of-its-kind take on virtual gifting, which has never before been executed with a retail partner," claims Brown.At the same time, Nabisco provided retailers with new products, such as the limited-edition Birthday Cake Oreo and Golden Oreo Fudge Cremes with "birthday cake" flavor creme. In addition, the company added commemorative 100th birthday graphics to top-selling Oreo SKUs."We collaborated with retailers to ensure that nationally we could create a party in every store and drive customer and consumer excitement throughout this historical event," Brown says. (See Related Articles.)Nabisco created special POS materials, including branded hutches with flashing lights and candle-shaped hutches. Box-top media and shelf-talker placements helped to drive in-store excitement, and the company created branded base wrap, inflatable birthday cakes and branded pennants to grab shopper attention.Campaign response was strong as the company headed into the third quarter: Facebook fans submitted about 770,000 "Moments," and the campaign generated more than 2.5 billion media impressions through more than 6,000 media placements.The fact that Oreo is so beloved, says Brown, might have been a steep brand challenge, especially when seeking just the right consumer insight to speak to all cultures and demographics. But it turned out to be a simple strategy, she insists: "The simple act of enjoying an Oreo cookie and glass of milk continues to speak to a universal human truth: Inside all of us, whether grown up or still growing, there's a kid that deserves to be set free every once in a while."

Oreo Up to the Centennial Marketing Challenge

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