On June 19, 2014, Facebook crashed and was inaccessible all around the globe. Twitter became flooded with frustrated rants and unanswered questions. The hashtag #FacebookDown became the top global trending topic almost instantly.

The Strategy: When the opportunity comes, seize it! The challenge for KITKAT has always been to overcome its limited marketing budget and use its strong brand belief as a foundation to maximize talkability. KITKAT, as the Champion of Breaks, decided to use this rare opportunity to prove what it believes in, and respond to what appeared to be a global apocalypse in real time.

The Idea: when everyone turned against Facebook and KITKAT thought otherwise, the brand decided to speak up for what it believed in: that everyone deserves a break. Even Facebook.

The Execution: Less than 3 minutes into the Facebook crash, KITKAT was able to respond with a simple tweet.

“@NESTLE KITKAT PH: Looks like #Facebook is having a break right now. Have a break too #facebookdown”

Upon posting, because of thousands of retweets, the Tweet spread to 10 million people globally within 29 minutes. The tweet was so successful that it got picked by publications worldwide such as The Guardian and The New York Times, using headlines such as “Very clever!” and “Most creative!” Facebook itself, through a tweet, responded in chide. KITKAT turned a global disaster into one of the most memorable breaks of 2014 and generated earned media worth USD 1.3 million, coming from zero media cost.

Break-through Content at Breakneck Speed

The idea: lighten the mood of the seemingly apocalyptic #FacebookDown situation and give everyone a break.

The execution: Because KITKAT practiced always-on social listening, less than 3 minutes into the Facebook crash, KITKAT was able to respond with a simple tweet.

“@NESTLE KITKAT PH: Looks like #Facebook is having a break right now. Have a break too #facebookdown”

The tweet, in a lighthearted tone intended to get people to lighten up and give Facebook a break, was uploaded in the KITKAT Philippines Twitter account.

Within seconds, KITKAT changed the conversation from frustration, to fun.

The Tweet spread to 10 million people globally within 29 minutes. Its success allowed it to be picked by publications worldwide. From The Guardian and The New York Times, to Wired and Huffington Post, headlines used were “Very clever!” and “Most creative!”. Facebook itself, through a tweet, responded in chide.

With a single tweet, KITKAT turned a global disaster into one of the most memorable breaks of 2014, generating earned media worth USD1.2million, coming from zero media cost –the highest for all marketing efforts done by KITKAT Philippines in history.