Snacking has become increasingly popular in recent years, with many people incorporating snacks into their daily routines. Whereas classic potato chips are still the most popular among consumers, Doritos struggles with both low spontaneous awareness (4%) and low market penetration (9%).W

We needed to encourage savory snackers to try Doritos, presented to them as a completely new snacking experience, disrupting their existing snacking habits. We recognized that the most effective way of encouraging consumers to confront their habits was by adopting a bold and prominent media presence.

We required an exceptional multi-channel campaign prioritizing extensive reach and frequent exposure, aiming to enhance brand awareness among our target group and highlight the key product benefits, particularly the distinctive triangle shape that sets Doritos apart in the category.We defined our main objective as to “GET GenZ TO love Doritos BY inspiring self-expression through an immersive brand experience that goes beyond pure snacking”.

To effectively engage with diverse target audiences within GenZ, it is important to identify their passion points. These are the topics, activities or interests about which they are deeply enthusiastic. Strategies and offerings may be aligned to these interests, making the brand more relevant to GenZ. This approach fosters a stronger connection with the audience, tailors content and campaigns in such a way as to capture their attention, and ultimately drives engagement and loyalty.

Doritos identified five main passion points relevant to its young target audience: gaming, nightlife, sports, music, and movies. The brand communicated the emotional benefits of self-expression in these areas, helping young people feel the intangible value of the brand beyond being just a snack. Therefore, when we selected our touchpoints, formats, context and influencers, passion points were our main criteria. This approach helped Doritos to engage and build stronger relationships with valuable Gen Z demographic.

Doritos’ campaign prioritized relevance, boldness and scale in its media mix selection. The goal here was to challenge automatic consumer behavior by creating a strong and attention-grabbing media presence, both across media channels and at POS. To appeal to Gen Z, the campaign utilized concise and captivating digital formats on platforms such as Meta, Tik Tok and Snapchat to inspire and spark excitement. Influencers played a pivotal role in championing individuality and non-conformity, empowering their followers to express themselves freely and authentically.

The campaign also leveraged elements of the urban environment to connect with young people, creating eye-catching murals and posters that were prominently displayed in areas frequented by this demographic. This allowed the campaign to capture attention and make its message more memorable. Overall, the campaign successfully resonated with Gen Z by promoting a message of individuality and non-conformity, inspiring them to express themselves in their own unique way.

During the initial phase of the campaign, the Doritos brand experienced a significant surge in reach and garnered positive feedback across social media platforms. The number of posts related to Doritos and their reach witnessed a remarkable increase of approximately 500% compared to the previous period. Additionally, the number of unique users engaging in comments about Doritos grew by nearly 100%. Notably, Google searches showed a 15% rise in interest for Doritos compared to the previous year (2022).

The campaign drove a +5.1% lift in Ad Recall in Tik Tok Brand Lift, which means the media support was strong and creative assets were memorable and easily linked to the brand

We experienced 6pp growth in Awareness TOM (Q2’23 vs YA) and 5,8pp Vol. SOM, with Doritos growing faster than TC category (+19,5 Doritos, +3,5 category).