HOLLYWOOD, FL: Twinkies, the
iconic snack brand, successfully demonstrated the power of online and offline
word-of-mouth as the product returned to store shelves across America.
Rich Seban, president/coo of
Hostess Brands LLC, discussed the "resurrection" of Twinkies at the
2014 ANA Brand Masters Conference, an event organised by the Association of
National Advertisers.
The "death" of the brand
came as Hostess Brands Inc. – often now known as "Old HB, Inc." –
filed for bankruptcy protection in early 2012. (For a full account of "The
Sweetest Comeback in the History of Ever" campaign, read Warc's exclusive
report: The Twinkies story: How an American icon rose from the depths of
bankruptcy.)
Production of Twinkies – and other
offerings like CupCakes and Wonder Bread – came to a halt that year, and the
process of selling off the firm's portfolio heated up.
As the new owner of Twinkies,
Hostess Brands LLC aimed to tap into the brand's comeback story, and to
position it in a way that would generate excitement with a younger audience –
especially millennials.
"There was no doubt that it
was a powerfully nostalgic brand among older moms, but we didn't want to go
back to the way things were," said Matt Bowne, creative director at
Twinkies' agency Bernstein-Rein, who was speaking alongside Seban.
Funds were tight, so creating
viral buzz would be particularly beneficial. That process began by featuring
huge wallscapes on prominent buildings in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Having started to build offline
and online buzz with this approach, a guerrilla marketing campaign got underway
in several cities, backed by efforts on social media and attempts to reach
influencers in the worlds of TV and entertainment.
As a result of these efforts,
Twinkies posted record-breaking sales figures – and helped the category return
to growth into the bargain.
Data sourced from Warc
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