Going into the summer of 2022, Bomb Pop had a challenge — teens and tweens knew our iconic Red, White, and Blue colors, but did not necessarily connect it to our brand of celebration and all that it is. Because it’s #NotOneThing, just like our three-colored ice pop.
Bomb Pop needed to be more than just an icy novelty snack bought in summer. It needed to resonate deeply as a brand with teens and tweens so they’d ask their shopping parents for us by name.
To bring our audience closer to our brand, we took over TikTok with a first of its kind media buy on the biggest summer celebration day — one that is all Red, White, and Blue. Then, we kept the celebration going through the summer and outpaced our far-bigger competitors in the $6B frozen treats market.
We know the world is a better place when teens and tweens are free to pursue their passions. Our goal was to unleash moments of possibility and exploration on TikTok where it’s estimated that they spend 99 minutes a day.
Despite the world trying to fit them into a “gen whatever” box or make them adhere to tight brand codes, we went the opposite route. We gave them the tools to create for themselves and a stage to show their unique brand of self-expression on the Fourth of July – and beyond.
To kick it all off, we picked six influencers known for their multiple interests, for example, an athlete that is an avid gamer and a make-up artist who loves to craft and cook — encouraging teens and tweens to discover new passions and try new things. Then we rallied teens and tweens to celebrate the Fourth with #AFlavorForEveryYou and a unique media buy.
By using the tag, #AFlavorForEveryYou, we combined a Branded Mission, a Hashtag Challenge, and a Branded Effect to ensure we were not just top of feed, but had TikTok creators with 1,000+ followers spreading Bomb Pop’s celebration of teens and tweens in their own unique ways for their, and our brand, presence in feeds all across the U.S.
Turns out empowering your audience works better than asking them to do something specific. The first of its kind Branded Mission, Hashtag Challenge and Branded Effect combo in North America on TikTok resulted in celebrating 100+ different passions with over 40,500 different videos and 1,200+ creator submissions watched by over 89M people.
Added bonus: The shopping parents of our teens and tweens took note, because we had the best sales day ever. Our data science team said that the 10.5% brand lift and the 13.2% ad recall definitely helped.
And that was just on the Fourth of July.
Continuing our winning efforts, bringing new fans in and engaging existing fans alike during the summer resulted in a 30% increase in sales versus the prior year, becoming the fastest growing water ice brand in the U.S. And we had a yearslong fastest repeat rate in the category (+5.9pts versus -0.5 category average). Not just winning the day, but winning the summer season for teens and tweens and a frozen treat with a humble budget.
