The small Mentos Gum Pocket Bottle with your personal photo on it was launched last year in The Netherlands. Right now it also conquers America. The basis is the campaign of the interactive marketing agency Icemedia.
Back for a moment to the year 2007. Mentos asks Icemedia to help with the introduction of the new package of Mentos chewinggum. Mentos wants a packaging that people show to each other and start a conversation about. Icemedia comes up with the idea to personalize the package. Consumers can upload an own photo at the website and receive a custom made package of Mentos Gum at home. Within a few days thousands are given away. People visit the site, order an own Pocket Bottle with personal label and send e-cards to each other. In this way, Mentos collects data of thousands of interested people.
‘We always work with the idea that every brand has its own fans’, explains Thijs van Schothorst, Icemedia’s Managing Director. ‘It is important for a brand to know who their brand ambassadors are and how they think. When you can create enthusiasm for your product, people tell it further to their friends. In the case of Mentos we did not only collect the data of brand ambassadors, we also had an photo upload of everyone. So, Mentos got the opportunity to really see their own target group.
Present
Two other considerations played a role in the chewinggum campaign. Van Schothorst: ‘with a personalized Pocket Bottle we give consumers a tool in hands to start a conversation about the brand. Besides that people gain a positive association with the brand as they get a present from it. That is nice. Their own picture is even on it so they won’t throw it away. And next time when they are in the store to buy chewing gum they will faster think about Mentos’.
A minor disadvantage is that there are no refill-packages for the Mentos Pocket Bottle. Van Schothorst: ‘however, what we see is that people fill their personal package with new chewing gums.
The campaign results were good. Marketing managers from different countries were very enthusiastic about the approach. Icemedia did the same trick in Belgium and now crosses the continental border to find out their chances.
Mentos wants to use a slightly different approach in America. There live 300 million people, so the same number of potential brand ambassadors. For that reason, the threshold is a bit higher. No free giveaways, but a ‘present’ of 6 dollars that consumers can order online.
Wedding
‘Off course I had rather seen that Mentos would give away the first ten thousand Bottles for free, to generate some traffic’, admits Van Schothorst. ‘However, they see it more as something they can sell and at the same time create rumor around the product. Typical American, they target especially at couples that give away a custom made Mentos Pocket Bottle to guests at their wedding, or for example a football team that makes multiple bottles with the same team photo. That is why you can opt to buy one, two, five, or maybe even hundred packages’.
The agency has possession over a database of a quarter million opt-in consumer data records. These addresses are used from time to time to boost a new campaign. However, in the United States there is no start database. ‘That is why a longer live period is taken for this project’, says Van Schothorst. ‘In the Netherlands the campaign lasted for a few weeks, in the United States at least for half a year. As consumers have to pay for it the campaign can last as long as it sells.’
The agency hopes that Mentos will use the new data of interested buyers. ‘The best thing to do is to build up a database and to keep the relation. That is what you will see more and more in the future. Nowadays, people decide themselves whether they buy or look at something. And when a consumer is interested and wants to receive more information you have to do something with it. It can be the start of a long term relationship. And just as in a normal relationship both parties need to invest’.
Source: Adformatie 17th of July 2008 |
