Werther's Original was a brand in need of some cultural notoriety to finally break through the earned media clutter during fall, its most important season for sales. This time, another ad with Grandparents wasn't going to do the trick.
To increase consumer awareness and drive engagement during the brand’s priority season, Werther’s sought to break through with a memorable brand act that had earned media and driving social chatter in mind.
The following metrics were identified to measure success:
Werther’s Original started with primary research where people said one of the things they love about its candy is carrying it in their purses and pockets. Linking this to jeans, a fall fashion staple that is always evolving with trends, the brand had an ‘ah-ha’ moment: the tiny pocket on nearly every pair of jeans is meant to carry a Werther’s caramel, of course! To further own this idea and elusive pocket, Werther’s created a line of limited-edition jeans boasting thirty tiny pockets - the perfect number of pockets for a standard bag of Werther’s Original. The release date for these unique jeans? National Caramel Month and the time of year when fall is top of mind: October.
To announce the limited-edition Werther’s Original Pocket Jeans, the brand created a tongue-in-cheek teaser video to reveal what the tiny pocket is really for and unveil the coveted Werther’s jeans complete with branded details such as custom rivets and back patches, thirty individual pockets, and a whole lot of swagger.
Werther’s Original then offered 200 lucky consumers the chance to win their own pair of Werther’s Original Pocket Jeans via a sweepstakes that was live for just 10-days, driving urgency for consumers to enter. A custom microsite featured editorial-style photos of the Werther’s Pocket Jeans, all the branded details, and an easy entry form making it pain-free for consumers to engage.
To raise awareness of the limited-edition jeans, the sweeps was promoted with a small paid social campaign targeting current and lapsed Werther’s users. Werther's also shared organic content on owned channels to tease the jeans drop and ensure followers knew about the sweeps.
To round out the consumer experience, winners received their Werther’s Original Pocket Jeans along with a custom branded note from Werther’s inviting them to show off their new jeans and tag the brand's social handles as well as– of course – a bag of Werther’s Original Hard Candy to fill up their pockets.
To drum up cultural buzz, Werther's conducted a robust PR push, targeting top-tier lifestyle, food and industry publications. The brand activated a multitiered press outreach strategy that drove interest and intrigue around this one-of-a-kind brand activation from Werther’s Original.
In just 10 days, Werther’s Original smashed its goals:
With 100% positive social sentiment, consumers were delighted by the Werther’s Original Pocket Jeans, posting photos and videos in their jeans on Instagram and TikTok and sharing comments such as:
The jeans also went viral after one of the winners, @everydaycait, posted an unboxing video and try-on to TikTok resulting in the following:
