Blog Post by: Melissa Ignasiak
Whenever the most famous band or celebrity couple decide to call it quits, fans are put in a state of shock. This is exactly what happened when the world’s most famous candy duo, Mike and Ike, decided to split last year after 72 years together. New packaging began appearing in stores with either “Mike” or “Ike” scratched off the box with a marker. On the back of packages with Mike’s name crossed out, a message from Ike blamed Mike for “spending way too much time on his music.” Packages with Ike’s name crossed out had a message from Mike blaming Ike for “spending way too much time on his graffiti art.”
The new packages directed candy lovers to the brand’s Facebook page where many celebrities, including N.B.A. star Lamar Odem, posted videos of their reaction to the split. Without many details, consumers were left wondering what had happened between the two and whether there was any chance of reconciliation. Little did they know, the pair had announced their split in hopes of gaining the attention of new and younger consumers.
The campaign, developed by The Elevator Group, aimed to capture consumers between the ages of 13 and 17. “Teenagers who are the primary target are not receptive to advertising that would be a direct sell about the attributes of Mike and Ike candy,” says Mark Richardson, president of the Elevator Group. “They see it coming, and they don’t want to hear us talking about it.” Social media also played a very large role in the split. By using Facebook as the main social media platform, the story of the split was able to develop over many months while keeping the target consumers involved by posting comments and videos with their reactions.
One year later, the results of the campaign split are in. After a year of some time apart, Mike and Ike have decided to get back together and the brand has grown 7.2%, the best growth year in more than a decade. The Mike and Ike Facebook page also tripled, reaching just under one million fans.
The split campaign did much more than increase the brand’s sales. By launching the “out of the box” campaign Mike and Ike developed new ways to communicate with its new consumers, and it gave them a chance to rebrand themselves. Social media had never been a large part of the brand’s messaging before the split. With new consumers in mind, the brand turned to Facebook knowing the potential success it could provide with their younger target audience.
With a new campaign that launched March 27, 2013, Mike and Ike will take the next year explaining why they broke up and how they got back together. The brand will also reveal some new changes to appeal to the brand’s new customers. Mike and Ike have never been portrayed as real people until now. The campaign’s new movie trailer includes real actors portraying Mike and Ike in the action-packed spoof. A new, modern design will also replace the old packaging that has been used for the past few decades.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udtby5nfAZ8&feature=player_embedded
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/business/media/mike-and-ike-campaign-concocts-a-dispute.html
http://articles.mcall.com/2012-04-13/business/mc-mike-and-ike-divorce-20120413_1_candy-store-mike-hot-tamales
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/mike-and-ikes-breakup-lifted-sales-and-social-148183
