Cheetos scares Caviar users in trick-or-treat video series
PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division is scaring up awareness for its Cheetos brand through a partnership with mobile delivery application Caviar and a social media video series that promotes its Halloween products by surprising unsuspecting delivery customers.
Cheetos is rolling out a series of video clips featuring real Caviar customers who have placed an order through the app and are then surprised when they receive something they did not expect, along with a free pack of its Halloween treats. The frightening campaign filled with tricks and treats will continue for the month of October in an attempt to entertain social media users with comedic real-life reactions.
"Brands producing constant, real time content for social media can make the content just coupons or product quick hits and most often that is what is created and sent week after week," said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis. "With social media having that elusive viral component that brands are looking for, agencies and brands will provide entertaining content in hopes of the viral aspect hitting on one of their creations.
"Entertaining content is important to try and try again, as it is not a straight line to what will work and what will not, but it is amazing when the jackpot is hit and one of the content pieces starts a domino effect around the internet," she said. "I believe it is important to keep reaching for that goal of viral as it not only is amazing exposure for the brand, but can produce incredible bottom line sales jumps."
Trick-or-treat
Frito-Lay?s infamous Chester Cheetah character lends itself to a unique and fun campaign this Halloween season, as the Cheetos mascot is known as a trickster, which is a common theme connected with the holiday. The character is making the rounds throughout neighborhoods in which the Caviar service also delivers, armed with frightful props and fake deliverymen.
Customers ordering food via the Caviar app were startled by an actor playing a delivery man with a box including a pop-up Halloween decoration inside a box, which frightened recipients upon opening. Cheetos is sharing a variety of videos featuring numerous customers being scared during October, who also received Cheetos Trick-or-Treat Packs.
The brand is promoting its packs to give away to trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. Frito-Lay is also encouraging consumers to enter into its digital jack-o-lantern named Chester's Pumpkinator, in which contestants design a jack-o-lantern graphically and submit it through its mobile-optimized or desktop site at Cheetos.com.
PepsiCo power
As one of the top marketers in the world, PepsiCo takes to mobile often to appeal to consumers.
For instance, PepsiCo showed why it is a mobile leader by giving its 50th anniversary social content strategy a mobile-first look that also shows how the brand values collaborators who helped build its reputation as an innovator (see more).
Also, the Frito-Lay division leveraged an interactive tool and personalized packaging for the Memorial Day holiday by letting consumers on mobile create custom digital bags of Lay?s potato chips featuring photos of favorite summer moments (see more).
"Caviar, a food delivery app, needed a way to build their name/brand across social media to create growth, partnering with Cheetos in a perfectly timed scare promotion was a great way to create that viral component that has shareable components," Ms. Troutman said.
Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer