Situation: As a brand that stands for inclusivity, Cheetos® identified an opportunity to put our purpose to work ¬within an industry built on exclusivity: fashion. Although fashion is a huge passion for our loyal fans, the industry has failed to keep up with their demands for more diversity and inclusion. In 2019, there was a decline in representation for all body types and gender identities.

Brief: Cheetos® was ready to challenge these outdated norms in celebration of our diverse fans. We needed to create a platform for their creativity and to unleash self-expression through fashion as a privilege for all.

Objectives:

? Generate buzz:

? Earn 650M PR impressions

? Impact those who didn’t attend:

? 6.63% engagement rate on social

? Book all salon appointments before opening

? Grow the business to prove the correlation between equity outside the grocery aisle and a sales lift within it

Cheetos® disrupted the biggest week in fashion with the world's first Cheetos® Runway Show + Style Bar: The House of Flamin' Haute. We concepted, designed and executed the fashion show and style bar from the ground up to create a truly inclusive and immersive experience.

The fashion show featured custom looks by five diverse fashion designers and 20 models inclusive of all genders, body types and ethnicities. In the style bar, consumers spent the next three days getting Cheetos® hair, makeup and nail looks all inspired by our fans’ love of Cheetos®. Each style was meant to empower everyone to look and feel beautiful while giving them the chance to express their love for themselves and, of course, their favorite snack.

To reach fans who couldn’t attend, we livestreamed the runway show and created makeup tutorials with influencers. Finally, fans shared their Cheetos®-inspired looks on social using the hashtag #CheetosFlaminHaute.

Target audience (consumer demographic/individuals/organizations)

The core Cheetos®target audience comprises a group of diverse Gen Z and Millennials with a strong affinity among multicultural females ages 18-25. They embody a less serious way of life and seek release through self-expression, proudly styling their hair, makeup and fashion in the likeness of the Cheetos® brand.

Approach

The challenge for Cheetos® was to stay top of mind with consumers by using distinction to build true brand love and loyalty. We saw on social media that fans were already styling themselves in the likeness of the Cheetos® brand. However, the fashion industry itself was failing to keep up with their demands for more diversity and inclusion. So our mischievous snack brand disrupted the biggest week in fashion to challenge industry norms and empower our fans who are hungry for representation with a headline-making four-day runway show and style bar.

The runway show featured custom lighting, music, and an animated backdrop and introduction from Chester Cheetah®. We tapped fashion influencers to create 21 Cheetos®-inspired looks that models of every gender, body type and ethnicity felt confident in. Finally, we debuted our showstopping finale dress made with 780 Cheetos® snacks, 200 Cheetos® bags and Swarovski crystals with a performance by a musical artist.

At the style bar, we leaned on professionals to curate fan-inspired hair, makeup and nail styles such as Fiery Flamin’ Hot Eyes and Caught Snacking Nails. From the 360-degree Cheetos bar to a nail “paw-lish” display to Cheetos®-inspired makeup and hair accessories, we used our distinctive assets to craft every element and bring the event to life in an ownable Cheetos® way.

Finally, we amplified the experience for our fans at home through our runway show livestream, Cheetos® makeup tutorials, influencer support, Snapchat filters and other social content.

Business impact - sales, donations, site traffic

¦ National Cheetos® sales: +11% vs YA during program time frame

¦ Northeast Region Cheetos® sales: +14.9% vs YA during program time frame

Response rate

¦ 424 media placements with 100% positive sentiment

¦ Booked all 400 available appointments before we opened

¦ Completed over 700 services across three days (including 300 walk-ins)

Impressions

¦ 1B+ earned PR impressions

¦ Over 144M social impressions

¦ Over 7M views and replays of our runway show

Consumer awareness

¦ 10K new followers

¦ 852K Snapchat lens shares

¦ 7.7% engagement rate

Change in behavior:

This program inspired the fashion industry and Cheetos® fans while celebrating them for being unapologetically and mischievously themselves—no matter their gender, body type or ethnicity. One even commented, “I haven’t felt this confident in my skin in a really long time!”