KitKat is launching a national campaign, “#MyBreak,” that encourages Gen Z Canadians to break with convention and enjoy the brand’s chocolate in their own way.
To support the main idea of the campaign, agency Thrive is deploying a media plan centred on user-generated content. Both the brand and the agency are launching a contest this week, giving people the chance to appear on street posters around the GTA this spring. All Canadians have to do is take a photo of themselves eating a KitKat and share it to social media using the brand’s tag.
“We understand their need [Gen Z] to break norms, challenge conventions, and forge their own paths. That’s why we provide more than just a chocolate bar; we offer an opportunity for self-expression, a canvas for their unique flavours of innovation,” Nestlé Canada marketing leader, confectionery Riona Coller tells MiC.
The media plan also comprises Spotify, OOH ads, TV, collaborations with influencers and spots on major social and video streaming platforms. The ads focus on quirky ways people enjoy the brand’s products; from a man savoring his KitKat Pops in front of his 15-foot pet python (pictured), to a young woman enjoying her KitKat bars by breaking them into a sandwich. Each spot also highlights the company’s platform “Your Break, Your Rules,” with which the brand aims to become people’s favorite snack in their free time.
“The priority with media is to get young, spontaneous Gen Z audiences to choose KitKat for more of their breaks by letting them know that KitKat offers many ways to enjoy them,” says Coller. “The first pillar of this media strategy is to maximize visibility and drive awareness by leveraging key windows of receptivity when consumers are in the mindset to take a break, which will come to life via streaming platforms, Spotify and DOOH media. The second pillar will purposefully engage with consumers through an active approach guided by precision targeting to drive desire with younger audiences via top social environments. And the third pillar will provide authentic recommendations using voices that our consumers look up to, to make Gen Z sit up and take notice via impactful OOH executions and creator content.”
According to Coller, the brand is launching this campaign after years of heated discussions and memes about the right way to enjoy a KitKat break. They were also driven by the idea that Gen Z values individuality and approaches their breaks in unique and diverse ways. “We’re all about breaking boundaries, and who better to do that with than the generation that thrives on defying expectations?,” she says.
Courage is the lead creative and strategy agency for this campaign, and Citizen Relations handles PR and influencer relations.
