• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 12, 2018

To mark its 10^th anniversary, Chobani is launching a nationwide  product giveaway, backed by what the company describes as its “most ambitious” multichannel campaign to date. The "One for All" push includes an Amazon Echo partnership, and employee outreach, in addition to traditional and digital media.

Today through March 4, consumers can visit Chobani.com/freeyogurt to download a coupon, redeemable at retail, for a free 5.3-ounce cup or bottle of the brand’s Greek yogurt, yogurt drink or Flip snack; or a two-pack of its Smooth (non-Greek) yogurt. 

In addition, Chobani built an Alexa skill/command enabling the 30 million-plus U.S. Echo users to receive a coupon redeemable through the Amazon Fresh and Prime Now platforms. Custom online video on the Amazon platform will prompt Echo users to take up the offer. 

In total, Chobani estimates that it will give away more than 10 million yogurt products during the promotion.

The Chobani.com-hosted coupon offer is being promoted across multiple channels. 

Two animated videos, now posted on YouTube, will also air on broadcast TV: A 30-second one (below), “The Giving Tree,” and a 15-second one, “Lady Appleseed Delivers Across America.”

The campaign also includes radio, online video and display ads, rich media banners, paid and owned social media, shopper media, PR, a “care packages” program for influencers.

Chobani is marshalling its 2,000 employees as brand ambassadors, as well. Each employee will be given an extra case of free yogurt products to give away, however they see fit, as a way of “paying it forward in their own communities,” according to the brand.

To kick off the campaign, Chobani is offering a multi-sensory, socially shareable experience in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal today. Attendees will be invited to travel through an interactive installation and plant virtual seeds that bloom into a digital fruit-tree canopy overhead. For each virtual seed planted, the company will donate a case of yogurt to No Kid Hungry. 

Chobani’s in-house creative team developed the campaign and its elements, including the videos/TV spots and the Alexa skill.

This campaign is the first since Chobani revealed an updated  package design in November and declared an expanded mission of becoming a “food-focused wellness company.” 

The “evolution” seems to hint at expanding beyond the yogurt category, as well as intensifying focus on the brand’s ongoing goals: Employing product innovation and marketing to win over consumers still not into yogurt, and driving yogurt consumption for occasions throughout the day and evening.