TUMS: TUMS or Dare

 

Campaign Summary

The multi-channel TUMS or DARE Challenge encouraged millennials to indulge in the hottest foods they love, then cool down and fight their heartburn with the new TUMS Chewy Bites with Cooling Sensation.

Strategy

Objective and Context:

As America's top-selling antacid, TUMS is well-known for its history of heartburn relief. To drive consideration and purchase intent of the new TUMS Chewy Bites with Cooling Sensation, TUMS sought to appeal to millennials with a new campaign.

From a business perspective, the millennial audience was needed to maintain growth of TUMS. However, millennials are in denial of their heartburn symptoms. While 89 percent of 18-to-34-year-olds have experienced at least one digestive issue in the past twelve months, only half of them have treated it.

Target Audience:

The target audience for this campaign was millennials, particularly social, food-loving millennials whose bold food choices represent their bold attitude toward living. This audience considers themselves to be adventurous when it comes to eating; however, this audience is in denial of heartburn symptoms associated with these eating habits. Millennials don't want to feel old, but the reality is that they are aging and experiencing heartburn.

Creative Strategy:

With the goal of enticing heartburn category newbies to try TUMS, the brand needed an engaging campaign that inserted itself into the food-loving millennial culture. TUMS was aware that millennials love spicy foods. In fact, 60 percent of millennials identify themselves as "total heat seekers" with regards to spicy food and 62 percent describe themselves as "adventurous eaters" (compared to 54 percent of U.S. adults). However, intense foods can lead to intense heartburn.

The multi-channel TUMS or DARE Challenge encouraged millennials to indulge in the hottest foods they love, then cool down and fight their heartburn with the new TUMS Chewy Bites with Cooling Sensation.

Execution

Overall Campaign Execution:

The TUMS or DARE Challenge was brought to life through a variety of tactics. Using social content and a Twitter giveaway, the brand gave away on-demand deliveries of the new product plus hot wings to encourage consumers to take the TUMS or DARE Challenge. Popular comedic social media influencers also took the TUMS or DARE Challenge to encourage their NYC-based followers to participate in the giveaway and to try the new TUMS product.

By partnering with the YouTube series Hot Ones, the interview-format show where celebrity guests endure eating a flight of wings of increasing spiciness, guests had the new TUMS product on hand to help them cool down fast and treat their heartburn. This partnership went beyond just logos and helped maximize the reach and impact of TUMS among a unique, millennial audience through branded Snapchat ads, custom pre-roll, shoulder content, and a seamlessly integrated physical presence at the buzzed-about ComplexCon.

The budget for this program was between $1 million and $3 million, which included the agency fee and out-of-pocket costs related to earned, social, creative, and digital executions. The budget did not include paid media spend or shopper marketing spend.

Mobile Execution:

To maximize reach and product awareness while also driving trial, the brand utilized many tactics relevant to its target audience to bring the campaign to life within a mobile environment. These tactics leaned heavily on digital channels including banner ads, online video, a real-time Twitter giveaway, social content across Facebook and Instagram, and influencer partnerships.

To capitalize on Twitter being one of the most popular mobile social networking sites in the U.S., TUMS partnered with Fooji to create a one-day Fooji Twitter giveaway in NYC. Through TUMS and Fooji Twitter content, the brand gave consumers the chance to take the challenge with an order of free wings and a limited-edition pack of the new TUMS product. Influencers leveraged Instagram Stories and the "Swipe Up" function to promote and encourage fans to participate in the giveaway.

Additionally, knowing that on mobile alone YouTube reaches more people in the 18-to-49 age bracket than any broadcast or TV network, the brand partnered with Complex to be the official season nine sponsor of Hot Ones on YouTube.

Results (including context, evaluation, and market impact)

In 2019, TUMS maintained its position as category leader largely due to the strategic focus placed on appealing to millennials who were often experiencing heartburn for the first time. Appealing to new category entrants and building early brand loyalty positioned TUMS for future success in the category.

The brand's source of growth stemmed from format innovation starting in 2017; pivoting from its long-established tablet format to a tastier, more enjoyable one with TUMS Chewy Bites. Since then, the brand has continued to focus on product innovation and better user experience to encourage trial amongst millennial audiences.

The barrier to entry with this audience is the perception that TUMS is a brand for older generations experiencing heartburn due to aging. However, the brand knew that food-loving millennials are experiencing heartburn and are not treating their symptoms. With that, the next format iteration was the launch of new TUMS Chewy Bites with Cooling Sensation, a flavor that allowed the brand to leverage millennial-relevant trends around heartburn-inducing spicy foods.

The TUMS or Dare campaign was effective at driving awareness and trial of the new product. The brand received positive sentiment and praise for its in-market relevancy, across the Fooji activation, influencer program, and Complex/Hot Ones partnership.

The Complex/Hot Ones partnership not only generated positive sentiment for the brand sponsorship, but the TUMS-sponsored season nine also met and exceeded benchmarks from the previous season. The harmonious nature of the partnership, along with the relevancy to the target audience, were factors in the positive performance.

Facebook brand lift studies indicated a 3.7 statistically significant lift in ad recall driven by females and audiences ages 25 to 34 on Facebook and Instagram. This indicates success in achieving one of the program's main objectives: promoting the new product to millennial audiences.

The campaign contributed to a 25 percent increase in units sold per store. TUMS Chewy Bites with Cooling Sensation reached its peak by selling seven units per store every week.

Hundreds of consumers participated in the TUMS or DARE Fooji activation. These millennials expressed excitement in trying the new product along with free spicy wings, leaving many positive reviews in the comments section. Additionally, the Complex partnership led to 2.88 billion earned media impressions and the most engaged Hot Ones season to date. Hot Ones fans expressed their love for the TUMS partnership, leaving numerous positive comments in the response section of the season nine videos.


Categories: | Industries: | Objectives: Product/Services Launch | Awards: NA Gold Winner