Summer is a key time for Skittles sales. And in the summer of 2012, with London hosting the summer games, the U.K. market was going to be Olympics-saturated. Without a license or an endorsement from a well-known athlete, we'd have to go an unexpected route to meet our target of a 7-10% sales increase.
The good news is that unexpected is what Skittles does best. We tapped into the mood of the nation in our own twisted way by serving up a sports-themed campaign like no other. Enter Grant Britton, a young man whose sweat glands produce Skittles. He became our hope for glory in the biggest sporting event of the summer: the Skittathlon.
Grant Britton turned out to be a massive winner for Skittles. The integrated campaign provided a 14% uplift in sales year-over-year, handily beating the 10% growth target.
It all started on-pack, with consumers challenged to find one of Grant’s GB-stamped golden Skittles to win ‘Nearly £50’ (Grant had to pay for the stamps and envelopes from his own training budget, Rainbros). Our loyal fans loved the quirky prize. Occasional and lapsed buyers loved a chance to instantly win cash.
Our promo tag on a Skittles TV ad let the nation know about Grant’s Golden GB Skittles, driving viewers in-store for purchase.
In-store displays built excitement among both grocery and impulse customers. The point-of-sale was regarded as ‘best in class’ by Wrigley for its delivery of brand and message in a cramped environment.
The Skittathlon itself was packed with all of the entertaining surreality that fans have come to expect from the confection brand. The series of events and interviews came to life via content on social media where it was met with huge engagement.
Scripts were written and content was filmed and edited, with Skittles-sweat and unicorns added in digitally during production. Fans were directed to the short-form YouTube videos from our Skittathlon Facebook page.
Various Facebook engagements allowed fans to win secondary prizes like Grant’s training merchandise and other Skittles items. Consumers ate it up.
The social campaign was an additional big win for Skittles. The quirky brand saw a 961% boost in Facebook fan growth rate: 221,000 new fans created in three months – more than double the target. Additionally, there was a 60% uplift in ‘talking about us’ on Facebook, and a 242.5% weekly reach uplift.
At the final whistle, no Olympics partnerships were needed to bring Skittles a haul of marketing gold in the summer of 2012.
