• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer, August 30, 2024

Gen Z job seekers are already bored with the grey-beige corporate work world, so Frito-Lay and Jack Links are teaming up to give their LinkedIn profiles a blast of color. A new microsite and contest invite them to try on a new look, reflecting their favorite snack flavors to show off their “uniquely audacious selves.” And once they “meat” their inner flavors, they can transform a selfie into a bold look, channeling a lead guitarist, stallion trainer or racecar driver. They can upload the photo to LinkedIn and win experiences corresponding to their flavor profile, gift cards and a $5,000 prize.

Leslie Vesper, Frito-Lay’s vice president of marketing, tells CPG Insider what the brand hopes to accomplish with the Jack Link’s partnership and the LinkedIn contest.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CPG Insider: Clever to kick a work-themed campaign off just before Labor Day. What’s on the mind of your Gen Z fans right now?

Leslie Vesper: From a timing perspective, it worked well. People are wrapping up the summer, throwing themselves back into work or job hunting. National Authenticity Day is also in August, so it felt like a good time to lean into this campaign, which is about embracing the inner you and showing your inner flavor. It’s something we feel is a challenge for Gen Z and young professionals.

They’re pivoting from maybe being in college or high school, and then getting into the workforce where they have to fit into that box of what they’re supposed to be like, or what they’re supposed to do.

CPG Insider: So they’ll use these brightly tinted portraits on LinkedIn with the #Opentoflavor hashtag?

Vesper: Yes. We love this idea of letting them showcase their inner flavor and boldness. And it’s a nice analog to what we're doing with our innovation and the collaboration between Jack Link’s and Frito-Lay. The thread that weaves between our two brands is flavor. And Gen Z likes the idea -- they want to be themselves. They don’t want to be put in a box. And they really are concerned about boreout, not burnout. They get on TikTok and talk a lot about how hard it is to be in the real world and how boring their jobs are. We wanted to disrupt that mundane everydayness of jobs and headshots, creating something fun and innovative.

CPG Insider: This generation has been decorating their social media images with filters for years, but usually through Snap, Instagram and TikTok -- it’s not something people would typically like their boss to see. So why choose LinkedIn?

Vesper: That’s exactly why we picked it. This would feel very expected on Snapchat or TikTok. We want to show them that you can be your authentic self on LinkedIn as well. And in fact, most employers want you to show up like your real self. We liked the idea of doing something different and innovative with the platform. I changed my picture to show that whether you’re junior or more senior in your career, you should show up authentically.

CPG Insider: I see that. You wound up with the cowboy hat treatment. I gave myself the eye patch. What changes are you seeing in this snacking category, and how does that fit in?

Vesper: Well, I’m in Texas. Our collaboration with Jack Link’s is all about taking our iconic flavors and applying them to their meat snacks, whether jerky or sticks. Flavor is what's driving the category.

The reason we were so interested in getting into this space is that so much of the category is traditional, using those tried-and-true flavors. We wanted to deliver unique, bold, never-been-done-before flavors like Flamin’ Hot and Spicy Sweet Chili. We know that's what Gen Z is looking for.

Flavor and unique forms, like combos, which are a little packet of both a meat stick and a cheese stick, are driving growth in the category. Sticks are having a moment, as consumers are looking for a more value-oriented product that provides protein on the go.

CPG Insider: How are you letting people know about this?

Vesper: Press outreach, and lots of social media across both our platforms internally.

CPG Insider: Besides contest entries and the number of headshots posted, how else will you measure success?

Vesper: We want to see the continued growth of trial and awareness with Gen Z, so we are continuing to track that.