Urbania

Snickers wanted to increase sales by 10% and return product trial levels to that of December 2008 (70% trial). In Mexico, the challenge was daunting. Volume sales for the chocolate market had decreased by 25% between January to May 2009, with Snickers falling by 18% in the same period. To make matters more complicated, the price of Snickers increased by 20%, which had a noticeable impact on sales.

Snickers biggest marketing effort is Snickers Urbania. This urban festival had been running in Mexico for three years, but Snickers needed to refresh the event to turn it into a brand property that resonated with a wider community of potential consumers. It needed to showcase the product attributes of Snickers by highlighting to youth the benefits for their energetic lifestyles.

Credibility is everything for Snickers’ target of the counter-cultural street guy. He loves urban activities like graffiti, music, BMX and skating and is viewed by some as a negative influence. The target is very skeptical about mass media and doesn’t brag about their social standing. There are a lot of people who respect these guys but don’t want to go to extremes. Snickers searched for these street heroes to participate at their Urbania festival of extreme sports, live music, graffiti, and more, and share their stories with the wider community. They became the story, not the Urbania Festival. Snickers needed to find these stories, share them through key street channels and beyond, invite people to Urbania, deliver a great experience and spread the word. Snickers found seven athletes who lived the street-hero life. They toured with a Snickers Urbania-supported rock band and their journey was filmed.

On the road, the street-heroes trained in readiness to take on the best skaters and BMXers of Mexico at Urbania. The skaters ended up co-writing a song with the band. Short clips were edited and uploaded as teaser webisodes, with information being shared via Twitter, Flickr and YouTube in anticipation of the event. Consumers were directed towards www.snickers.com.mx, where they could see profiles of the street athletes, with a chance for visitors to rank the guys as rockstars. The site also encouraged upcoming rock bands to participate in a competition to be the opening act at the event. Snickers took to the streets placing ads and giving away tickets in urban contact points such as subways. Meanwhile TV and radio advertising bolstered the awareness of the road trip and the event.

The seven street heroes proved themselves against the best at Urbania, their struggle reported live via Twitter and Flickr. Participating rock bands and competitors gave interviews at radio stations, while live radio reports came from Urbania too. This was all merged to create a half hour TV show on YouTube.

Some 100,000 people attended the event and 70% of those learned about Urbania through world of mouth. 90% of attendants used social media to learn more about Urbania and its YouTube channel became bigger than MTV’s. Product trial was up 26% compared with the previous event and there was a 14% increase in sales volume and a 19% increase in sales value.