KitKat faced the challenge of reaching gen Z at Brazil's most anticipated music festival of 2023, "The Town," in a fun and engaging way that wouldn't conflict with music copyrights. The brand needed to maintain a top-five position in share of voice and outperform the earned media of Rock in Rio, a previous year's festival. After discovering that all of The Town's main headliners had songs featuring the word "break," KitKat created the "Music Break Challenge," leveraging this perfect alignment with its iconic "Have a break, have a KitKat" slogan. Through social media platforms including TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram, KitKat invited participants to sing excerpts from popular songs containing the word "break." The campaign engaged gen Z by making them the protagonists of the content, with selected creators bringing KitKat's relaxed vibe to the interactions. As a result, KitKat became the most associated brand with the festival, outperforming established sponsors such as Heineken and Coca-Cola, achieving the second-highest share of voice during the event, and generating $7.7 million USD in earned media. The campaign also delivered impressive brand lift results, including increased ad recall, brand association, purchase intent, and preference.
KitKat faced a dual challenge: reaching gen Z at Brazil's most anticipated music festival of 2023, "The Town," while talking about music in a fun, engaging way that wouldn't conflict with copyrights. The marketing objectives were to keep the brand among the top five in share of voice and to surpass the earned media generated at Rock in Rio, a previous year's festival. Business objectives included generating sales inside the festival and increasing brand awareness on social media platforms.
KitKat needed to overcome a previous year's festival sponsorship situation. While the brand was in a stable position in the market, it sought to create a distinctive presence at The Town festival that would resonate with gen Z and leverage the music environment in a way that naturally connected to the brand's identity and positioning.
The campaign specifically targeted gen Z, a demographic known for their digital-first mindset, preference for authentic brand interactions, and significant engagement with music and social media platforms. This audience represented a key growth segment for KitKat and was highly relevant in the context of a major music festival.
The creative insight came from a key discovery: all of The Town's main headlining artists had songs featuring the word "break" — creating a perfect alignment with KitKat's iconic "Have a break, have a KitKat" positioning. This observation inspired the creation of the "Music Break Challenge," designed to allow the brand to talk about music, and even sing, both inside and outside the festival without infringing on music copyrights.
The strategy focused on making the audience the protagonists rather than passive recipients of brand messaging. By inviting participants to sing excerpts from songs with the word "break" in the lyrics, KitKat created a co-creation opportunity with gen Z that was fun, relaxed, and highly engaging. This approach enabled the brand to become directly associated with the music territory in a proprietary way.
The media strategy focused primarily on digital channels, utilizing creators to bring KitKat's vibe to those interacting with the campaign across platforms including TikTok, X, and Instagram. Digital banners supported the initiative, ensuring wide visibility and encouraging participation.
The execution of the Music Break Challenge centered on leveraging social media platforms to create a viral challenge that would associate KitKat with the word "break" in a musical context:
Content Creation and Distribution
KitKat selected creators to spearhead the campaign, bringing the brand's relaxed, fun vibe to the interactions. These creators initiated the Music Break Challenge by singing excerpts from popular songs containing the word "break," encouraging their followers to do the same. The format was designed to be highly shareable and participation-friendly, with a clear hook to generate interactions.
Platform Strategy
The campaign was deployed across multiple social media platforms, each leveraging its unique strengths:
Interactive Experience
Rather than simply promoting KitKat with traditional advertising, the campaign created an interactive experience where participants became the co-creators of content. This approach resonated with gen Z's preference for active participation rather than passive consumption of brand messages.
Festival Integration
While the campaign existed primarily in digital spaces, it created bridges to the physical festival experience. The Music Break Challenge provided a way for both festival attendees and those following from home to engage with KitKat in the context of The Town without requiring official sponsorship.
The execution successfully reinforced the brand foundation in a "fire type" activation (rapid, viral) that created a lasting association: whenever people hear the word "break" in a song, they would remember KitKat. This approach enabled the brand to leverage the music territory without direct copyright issues, as participants were creating new content rather than using protected recordings.
The sophisticated use of social media and influencer partnerships ensured that the campaign reached its target audience efficiently while generating organic amplification through participants' own networks.
The Music Break Challenge delivered exceptional results across multiple key metrics:
Brand Association and Awareness
Brand Lift Metrics (TikTok Brandlift results)
These impressive results demonstrate how the campaign successfully connected KitKat to the music territory through the strategic use of the word "break," creating a lasting association that reinforced the brand's iconic positioning. By making gen Z the protagonists of the campaign rather than passive recipients of messaging, KitKat generated significant engagement and positive brand sentiment.
The fact that KitKat outperformed official sponsors in terms of brand association with the festival highlights the effectiveness of the strategy in creating meaningful connections without requiring traditional sponsorship investments. This approach delivered exceptional return on investment, with the earned media value far exceeding the campaign costs.
Perhaps most importantly, the campaign created a lasting impact on how people perceive the brand, establishing a connection between KitKat and the word "break" in music that extends beyond the festival itself — whenever people hear the word in a song, they're now more likely to think of KitKat, reinforcing the brand's core "Have a break, have a KitKat" positioning in a contemporary, culturally relevant way.
