food

'Hungerithm' Lowers Snickers' Price In Response To Angry Social Trends

Mars Chocolate Australia and Clemenger BBDO Melbourne have devised a unique twist on Snickers’ “You’re not you when you’re hungry” campaign.

The team, using the premise “The Internet gets a little angry when it’s hungry,” created the Snickers Hungerithm, an algorithmic program built on a 3,000-word lexicon, capable of interpreting slang, sarcasm and variations in context.

The program monitors about 14,000 posts per day to gauge the mood on social media, and automatically lowers the price of a Snickers at 7-Eleven’s 630 stores across Australia whenever the mood turns angrier. 

The candy usually costs about $2.70 Australian, but when the social mood is really nasty, the price can drop as low as 50 cents (shown above). 

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To take advantage of a bargain price, fans visit snickers.com.au on their mobile phones and click “Get a Snickers” to generate a unique barcode that reflects the price at that moment. Then they show the barcode on their phone screens at a 7-Eleven. No need to download an app or print a voucher.

The campaign includes 15- and 60-second videos, digital, outdoor and PR, as well as social elements to generate and respond to conversations around real-world events.

If it’s a hit, the Hungerithm could be coming to the U.S.

“We’re hoping this shows consumers that Snickers is on their side during trying times, and we plan to satisfy even more hungry consumers by rolling the Hungerithm out globally in 2017,” said marketing manager Renee Lewington.

“A data-led idea that changes the price of a global FMCG brand is an amazing opportunity,” particularly given the scale of the launch with 7-Eleven, adds Ant Keogh, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne’s executive creative director.

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