Kraft Dinner starts a battle
Kraft Dinner's consumers were categorized in the online space as "buyers" (moms) and "eaters" (younger tech-savvy consumers). KD's presence in traditional mediums catered to moms, but while younger consumers were talking about KD online, they weren't being engaged or rewarded by the brand.
Instead of focusing on key product attributes, like the cheesy taste or the quick prep time, Taxi chose to show the unique craving that KD causes - "when you see it, you want it."
Leveraging social media, specifically Facebook, the central piece of communication was the "Battles" campaign, which challenged Canadians to go head-to-head with friends, foes or total strangers, demonstrating how far some people will go to get their KD fix.
At the core of the campaign was the "Battle Zone," a Facebook application consisting of five unique challenges that were rolled out every two to three weeks from January to April. Consumers were driven to Facebook through two TV spots, while five battle-specific videos were launched on YouTube through a "Battle Zone" channel and embedded in the application. Online ads alternated throughout the campaign on Facebook and millennial-themed sites, as well as on Break.com, which featured appropriately themed roommate-pranking videos and drove to the application.
In the five months preceding "Battles," the Facebook community averaged 6,075 "likes," and during the 13 weeks that "Battles" was in-market, the KD Facebook page accumulated 12,491 "likes" per week (162,386 total). By April, KD had over 277,000 fans and has surpassed its yearly goal, with 400,000 fans by early July.