Charmology is a unique product/brand experience that taps into Gen-Z’s fascination with astrology on social media, providing a new and fun method of divination using Lucky Charms’ cereal marshmallows as a way to provide daily fortune.

This “mystical” experience used live readings on social to literally bring the product back to the table for an audience that had outgrown cereal but not magic, as they heavily rely on astrological advice to guide them in many decisions in their lives.

For younger audiences, nothing could beat a marshmallow-y bowl of cereal with morning cartoons, a cereal crossword puzzle, a horoscope reading, and a boxed toy: their introduction to experiences that surprise and delight. However, new breakfast trends have emerged and some audiences are foregoing the most important meal of the day all together. This shift has caused the cereal category to decline with their core audiences and Lucky Charms has not been immune to this change as they experience losses in buyers and trips.

As one morning ritual wanes, another waxes. From the moment our audience wakes up, their eyes are set to their future via their phones (nearly all engaging first thing when they wake up). Whether they're seeking guidance and inspiration from social, or looking to the stars. A love for the morning horoscope persisted – growing astrology into a 2.2-billion-dollar industry. And its not just for fun, 40% use it to make big financial decisions, 38% to decide who to date. A majority check their celestial alignment regularly.

The role of fun cereals has always been to surprise and delight. Conventional entertainment wouldn’t cut through the noise of their busy social streams but the connection between entertainment and the morning ritual were ideal for Lucky Charms. This all-about-me pseudo-spirituality presented the opportunity for a cereal rooted in luck and symbolism, to re-engage the lapsing Gen Z audience.

Gen Z eats cereal less than older audiences. Often opting to skip at-home breakfast altogether. We were seeing category declines across multiple breakfast categories - with cereal experiencing some of the largest declines. Lucky Charms was performing under category benchmarks in buyers and trips; with dollars pacing slightly better than the category due to a higher price point.

Lucky Charms found itself feeling the effects of these declines and changing trends in consumer behaviors.

We needed to reverse the cereal category decline and drive sales growth for Lucky Charms. Our greatest opportunity to grow was by reaching a younger, lapsing Gen Z audience in a relevant way that inspires them to start every morning with a bowl of Lucky Charms.

Charmology is a first-of-its kind divination method that interprets marshmallow patterns visible in a bowl of Lucky Charms. From love and friendship, to fame and money, and of course luck, Each charm has a meaning, and the connections between them tells your fortune.

Created in partnership with renowned psychic and social influencer, Aliza Kelly,

we drove awareness and engagement of the idea every morning with live Charmology readings on Instagram and TikTok.

Every session invited to shop directly, and read their own lucky charms bowls at home.

Through a mobile experience, new Lucky Charms fans could scan their bowls as the tech identified the alignment of primary and secondary charms, and generated unique fortune for each bowl served based on Aliza’s interpretations.

Every reading through the mobile platform led to even more Lucky Charms offers.

When our Gen Z audience wakes up, they’re focused on the future. They’re prepping for the day ahead but also looking to the future.

This quest for guidance on the future has turned astrology into a multi-billion dollar industry. And Gen Z is using it from everything from their stocks to their love life. As digital natives, this morning preparation happens on their phones.

This connection between entertainment and morning rituals created a unique sweet spot for Lucky Charms to inject some fun into their mornings. The future focused spirituality connects to Lucky Charms, a cereal whose lore is rooted in luck and symbolism. Therefore, it was natural for Lucky to help our audience find a new and entertaining way to prepare for the day…through the charms in their bowls!

By partnering with one of the top astrologer influencers, Aliza Kelly on Tik Tok and Instagram, we assigned meaning to each of the marshmallows & created an algorithm to read it’s patterns on a cereal bowl. From love & friendship to fame & money, and of course luck.

Every morning, our audience could watch & interact with a live social stream reading from our “Charmologist” who would prompt viewers & pour their own bowls of Lucky Charms to give them a personal reading. Every stream was shoppable for those tuning in without Lucky Charms.

A mobile web-app was created for consumers to scan their bowls & get endless readings every day. Each new reading also led to a Lucky Charms offer.

We spread the word about Lucky’s Charmology through media & a custom brand page that drove to the mobile experience, driving engagement & sales.

The cereal aisle was experiencing significant losses amongst sales, buyer, and trips. However, Lucky’s Charmology foresaw a brighter future and was able to completely turn the tide on category decline, by bringing some much-needed playfulness and fun back to the cereal category that shoppers were hungry for.

Lucky Charms outpaced the category – increasing buyers 6.2% versus a year ago, and trips 1%, resulting in a growth of 8.9% or $2M in dollar sales versus the 2022 spring period. While the category was still down in overall buyers and trips, we were able to shoulder overall category decay, slowing the category decline by 80%.

Social engagement:

• 4.89MM impressions

• 53% higher than average engagement

Sales:

• 37% overall sales lift vs YA

• Slowed category declines by 80%