We designed a charming set of five Biscuit Jar characters, to give faces and identity to Milka Biscuits – because who knows biscuits better than a biscuit jar?

The characters were first introduced in the ‘Biscuit Jar’, one of two films that launched Milka’s new global cross-category brand platform – ‘Tenderness Is Inside’.

A few months after the TVC launched, the jars came to life in a pan-European digital campaign where fans could vote for their favourite character on Facebook for a chance to win a real-life, limited edition, ceramic biscuit jar.

On Milka’s European Facebook and YouTube pages, a core trailer set up the concept and five further films introduced the loveable characters and their favourite Milka biscuit. Each mini story showcased the different personalities of each of the jars – fans met fearless mountaineer Anton, anxiously waiting Cookie Time, glamorous Fluffy, sweet Grandpa and always hungry Mama Bear.

The ‘Take Them Home’ Biscuit Jar activation first launched on May 3 2016, and rolled out across over 20 European markets* until October 31 2016.

In addition to the online films, YouTube and Trueview pre-roll and Facebook cinemagraphs encouraged fans to vote and be in to win a chance to take home their very own biscuit jar. Offline the activation was promoted via out of home and point of sale advertising. We even created a tin version of the jars as in-store incentives so people could immediately share a little bit of tenderness at home.

*Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Baltics, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania.

The ‘Take Them Home’ activation put Milka branded biscuit jars in the hearts of thousands of consumers’ homes – a physical and constant reminder to always keep them filled up with Milka biscuits.

Not only did the Biscuit Jars give a distinct identity to the Milka Biscuits brand, they also acted as desirable and tangible products able to be leveraged across promotional efforts. The results speak for themselves:

SCALE

+ Over the course of the integrated campaign 3,100 biscuit jars were given out across Europe

OVERALL EUROPEAN GROWTH

+ 6% net revenue growth across Europe (despite lower media investment)

KEY MARKET GROWTH

+ 30% ROI in France - Milka Biscuits’ biggest market

+ 23% increase in German sales versus 2015 – the first-time sales have grown in the market after years of significant decline

OTHER MARKETS

+ Significant growth in smaller, but important markets: i.e. 82% Bulgaria, 10% Spain