Giving Chinese Youth a Taste of the Unexpected

Skittles had been successfully introduced into a fast-growing China candy market. But as that market reached “maturity” Skittles was just one of many competitors vying for the notoriously hard to reach Chinese youth segment.

Charged with re-launching and invigorating the brand, the creative team studied the target demographic and realized it was stressed. Really stressed. China’s youth confessed to feeling daily pressure, from grueling study schedules to life in general. They welcomed escape. If it came with an edge of the absurd or unexpected, all the better.

So the agency’s Guangzhou office turned the Skittles Rainbow Hotline loose. Available anytime, anywhere, the Hotline treated callers to random blasts of comedy, with just a touch of anarchy.

The “Summon the Rainbow” campaign leveraged the notoriously colorful nature of the product. From pre-launch viral videos, to a launch party at a popular Shanghai shopping mall, the campaign was designed to drive word-of-mouth, the most credible source among young Chinese. And we kept word-of-mouth going, through social platforms that encouraged consumers to share the surprises they found on the Rainbow Hotline and supporting websites, above and beyond the promotion period.

Thousands of youth called the hotline. Thousands more visited the website. 90 articles were posted on the official BBS and more than 60 stories appeared in traditional Shanghai media.

Young people were smiling, and talking, and spreading Skittles around. Skittles had become their icon of fun and unpredictability, and antidote to stress. And in October 2012, Skittles officially became the #1 brand of chewy candy in China.

Yes, we’re talking to you

Two Rainbow Hotline viral videos were posted on social media and micro blogs before the official launch of the hotline.

Twenty key micro-blog opinion leaders were invited to repost the news.

Youth were encouraged to personally engage in the promotion of the hotline:

• “Forward the video and you and your friends will receive a prize.”

• “Tell us what you want to achieve in life and Skittles will help some lucky participants reach their goals through an “unexpected” method.”

An outdoor teaser event was also held in Shanghai featuring comedic telephone booths, Gangnam Style flash mobs, and appearances by actors and actresses from Rainbow Hotline viral videos produced by famous director Hu Ge. The event was filmed and edited, providing additional viral content for Skittles online video platforms Youku.com and Tudou.com, and Sina Weibo, China’s highly influential combination of Twitter and Facebook.

During the performance period from October 7 until November 10, 2012, the campaign recorded 16,108 call-ins, with an average duration of 54.4 seconds.

Live broadcast of the event and viral videos resulted in over 80,000 reposts and 13,500 comments on Skittles official Weibo page.

42 Weibo, 24 renren.com and 48 kaixin001.com KOLs were invited to repost the official video launch post, and 90 articles were posted on the BBS.

Traditional Shanghai media attend the events including general media, fashion and lifestyle media, general portal sites, video portal sites and television crews, generating more than 60 stories.

Oct. 2012 Nielsen data showed Skittles becoming the #1 brand of chew candy in China with 16.8% national value share, unseating the longtime market leader. During the October/November promotion period, Skittles national value share increased by 17% over the same period the previous year.