OREO created a new cookie inspired by the band BlackPink to appeal to generation Z.
Objective
The biscuit category, especially within snacking, is saturated and fragmented in Southeast Asia. OREO's penetration was 40 percent and declining. The brand was losing to legacy brands like Mayora, Garuda, and Nabati in Indonesia and Malaysia, and to other preferred formats like pies and cakes in Vietnam and the Philippines.
Consumer analysis showed that OREO was perceived as a cookie just for kids. Eighty-one percent of sales came through mothers with kids. Market potential data showed that young adults aged 18 to 25 (generation Z) formed a huge segment of over 100 million in Southeast Asia with the most prominent number of snacking occasions in a week. Therefore, for OREO to grow it was imperative to tap into the demand of generation Z.
OREO had to break free from the confines of being seen as a "kid's sweet cookie" and be a favorite snack across generations, rooted in its purpose to foster "playful connections."
Context
Setting a new precedent in brand collaborations, OREO's partnership with BlackPink marked a milestone as the first-ever collaboration between a renowned K-pop band and the world-famous OREO brand. The most significant shared culture across Southeast Asian countries for generation Z has been the "Hallyu," or the Korean Wave. And K-pop stars are icons of the movement.
This insight led OREO to the consumer truth, that to connect with generation Z, the brand needed to build an authentic cultural connection between the icons they loved and the brands they wanted and connected with.
Target Audience
To power this growth chapter, OREO shifted its focus from millennial parents with kids to 16-to-25-year-old members of generation Z and millennials.
Generation Z enjoys the greatest number of snacking occasions and spends the most time online. It is extremely challenging to demand attention from this demographic. To appeal to them, OREO had to be part of what they love, own, and share — culture.
Creative and Media Strategy
OREO's creative strategy was to foster intimate yet playful engagement, which hinged on experiences that brought the generation Z audience and the brand closer together. OREO's strategy brought this aspiration to life by powering an authentic and personal experience with BlackPink Fandom, converting buzz to business.
The iconic OREO cookie was turned pink to pay homage to the band and the packs were "pack-tivated" to deliver personal experiences and collectible memorabilia. OREO launched this effort with a twist on the classic OREO, with collectible packaging, flavor, and colors.
OREO created a sneak peek of the campaign with K-communities and publishers, along with an exclusive "Special Edition" BlackPink pack with Shoppee on 12/12. The pack sold out within 12 minutes of launch.
Owned channels were used to build the hype without announcements.
To entice the fans, OREO leveraged media to drive awareness and built excitement. YouTube, OTT, Meta, TikTok, and local ad networks were used to run branded videos alongside curated Korean content. At the same time, customized K-pop-based audio ads announced the launch of OREO BlackPink cookies on Spotify. And on TV, high-affinity and high-reach channels and programs were used to target generation Z.
OREO targeted curated YouTube lineups to match offline targeting with digital listener behavior, with the result that 800 million video views primed awareness.
OREO's next step was to socialize the experience.
With their "BlackPinkXOreo" edition of black and pink cookies, fans received AI-powered BlackPink member messages through the "social-first" pack-tivation. Consumers scanned the pack to receive personalized greetings from Blackpink members, which fans proudly shared.
OREO debuted BlackPink collectible cards in multipacks, urging consumers to collect all 10.
TikTok Hashtag Challenges and Branded Effect increased social engagement. OREO's audience lip-synced to BlackPink using a filter, as fans created over 2 million videos, fostering virality.
To convert buzz into business, OREO optimized the campaign to gain first-party data and intelligence, collecting over 125,000 unique profiles. Leveraging this data, OREO undertook various engagements on websites and retargeted the audiences on Dv360, Meta, Tiktok, and Instagram, driving them to e-commerce platforms like Shoppee and Lazada to induce sales.
As a result of the campaign, OREO:
