• by Amanda Sklad , June 7, 2011

Media Category: Media Innovation
Agency: Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, OMD
Client: Frito-Lay's Doritos
Campaign Title: "Concert in a Bag"

Marketing Challenge: The summer of 2009, amidst a global recession, may not have been the most optimal time for Doritos to embark upon one of its most ambitious product launches to date. Doritos Late Night was not just a new flavor, but a new line of chips, inspired by the rich, indulgent and multi-layered flavors of late-night foods. And with more than 30 new salty snack products hitting shelves each year, we had our work cut out for us to break through the clutter.

Creative Solution: We started with a simple truth: For the cost of a bag of chips (99 cents), Doritos' core consumer of tech-savvy, entertainment-seeking teens face a plethora of purchase options. Rather than spending that money on snacks, they were choosing more entertainment-oriented options such as iTunes downloads or Xbox upgrades.

We had to build a bridge between the entertainment experiences teens crave and the chips they love. Because our new chips were inspired by late-night foods, we honed in our target's favorite late-night activities -- music and concerts. But rather than just sponsoring a band and slapping our logo on a music festival, we had to make Doritos integral to the experience.

We partnered with blink-182, who were making a huge comeback in the summer of 2009, and created a first-of-its-kind concert experience -- a concert in a bag. Using augmented reality technology, we created an interactive 3D concert that users could control. To unleash the experience, fans needed an AR marker, which could only be found on bags of Doritos Late Night chips. The bag thereby became the ticket to this exclusive music experience.

To get the word out, we promoted the bags just like concert tickets, seeking to make our communication to feel less like advertising and more like insider information.

Media Solution: To ensure organic discovery, we tapped blink-182 to activate their fan base via social outlets (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Then, we teamed up with some of the biggest names in online music, weaving our message into the fabric of the sites instead of just running banners.

On Pollstar, we built the Late Night concert into the scrolling ticket ticker -- a real-time feed of ticket prices on their home page. The price of a ticket? Just $3.99 -- the average cost of a bag of Doritos. We also sent direct Facebook notifications to existing blink-182 fans and incorporated Late Night into the proprietary iTunes sidebar on iLike.

To top it all off, we partnered with Ticketmaster and gave away "free tickets" to the upcoming blink-182 show. The first 500 registrants received a bag of Doritos Late night shipped directly to their door.

Results: In the end, we received $3.6MM worth of earned media from music industry press, adding to Doritos' cultural currency with teens and amplifying our investment. Rolling Stone, Wired, National Public Radio and other national media ran feature stories on the campaign, 600 radio stations discussed the program and MTV covered Late Night in a behind-the-scenes piece. Most importantly, we surpassed our sales goal and became the top-selling product innovation that year in the salty snack category.

All winners will be presented June 7 during the 2011 EFFIE Awards gala in New York.