To connect with fashion fanatics in the millennial and gen Z generations, Doritos partnered with a streetwear brand to develop a collection inspired by the famous chip. Video content was a key element of the campaign, and UPROXX was an important publishing partner in regard to forging strong emotional connections with the target audience.
Objective and Context:
Doritos is a brand synonymous with bold, vibrant energy. It's often recognized as a disruptor, quick to champion what is unique and different. But in 2019, it had been some time since the chip brand had disrupted culture in what was once their signature fashion, and the brand's market share had begun to wane.
Leading up to Doritos's first major brand campaign in years, the brand sought a partnership that would make a statement, put a unique spin on the status quo, and remind everyone of the love they have for the iconic chip.
The campaign would lean into the brand's "Another Level" messaging platform. Its focus would be on driving brand awareness, relevance, and increasing market share with key audiences. Doritos developed a story-led approach that spanned mobile, digital, and social channels. Through narrative content and a dynamic visual style, Doritos created a unique social-first shopping experience and generated a strong emotional connection with the brand.
Target Audience:
The program focused on the Doritos core audience of "Hyperlifers." Those in this group want to live life fully engaged, seek fun and self-expression, want to celebrate the joy and humor in life, and want to be uniquely themselves, unhindered by ideas of what is classically cool. Largely composed of gen Z and millennials, this total market audience is adventurous, experience-driven, and constantly connected.
Creative Strategy:
Looking to engage the Hyperlifer target, the brand knew it would be important to connect to millennial and gen Z audiences not only through their love of Doritos, but through their passions. As a publisher with deep connections to early adopters and change makers, UPROXX was an obvious partner.
Leveraging insights around top indexing UPROXX editorial pillars for this audience, the topic of style rose to the top. The target audience had a 3.3 times higher likelihood to consume style content on UPROXX. Doritos would rally around this subject matter for the campaign.
Digging deeper into the nuances of this category, Doritos focused on streetwear as the ideal territory that had the strongest alignment with audience's behaviors and interests. While streetwear is by no means a new phenomenon, the once humble aesthetic had become ground for creativity, expression, and collaborations. It became clear that a brand like Doritos, with a passionate cult following, should have the threads to match.
With this as the anchor point of the creative approach, Doritos developed a media approach that spanned digital, social, and mobile platforms to ensure the content was seen by and resonated with the audience. The target is the first truly digital generation. They have been constantly connected since birth and never known a time without the internet and social media.
Overall Campaign Execution:
With the goal of creating a streetwear collection inspired by the bold energy and shape of the iconic snack, UPROXX brought together the powerful legacy of Doritos with the innovative talents of streetwear designer Mikey Alfred of the brand Illegal Civilization, sometimes called Illegal Civ, and BMX icon Nigel Sylvester.
The process of creating this limited-edition collection was documented in a video series, giving audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the unique inspiration for the designs. The video series excited both snackers and streetwear junkies alike. The four-part series lived on both UPROXX and Doritos platforms. Additional short-form content was also published on Facebook and Instagram to drive awareness for the partnership. Each episode of the four-part series was cross-promoted by featured talent as well as relevant micro-influencers from the streetwear space.
Mobile Execution:
The majority of the program budget and content experience was executed with a social-first mindset, but the reveal of this limited-edition collection was specifically tailored to leverage the mobile tendencies of the audience. For example, the reveal leveraged the audience's likelihood to make purchases directly from their phone.
Through a synchronized social activation, Doritos drove excitement and urgency to shop the Doritos x Illegal Civ drop. Messaging went live across all talent, UPROXX, and brand handles on the day of the launch. The micro-influencers also shared about the drop and highlighted individual pieces of the collection, further driving engagement and excitement. When the time came, fans encountered an additional content experience: the premiere, mobile-first streetwear shopping experience. They were finally able to shop the collection and share their reactions in real time, lending an additional interactive layer to the experience.
A pre-campaign control survey was fielded prior to the launch of the custom content series to establish the state of the brand pre-exposure. While the core audience had strong awareness and favorability numbers, cultural relevance and association with key passion areas the audience also identified with were lacking.
Doritos delivered strong and significant lifts in every category for the brand against the core demo. Key highlights include:
