NERDS advertising leverages influencer marketing

Super Bowl advertisers strive to make their ads stand out from the crowd at the most-watched event of the year. Most brands are teasing ads or pre-releasing ads before big games because they need to maximize exposure to recoup their $7 million investment in 30-second ads. . This year, his company's NERDS brand at Ferrara Candy has taken an innovative approach to teasing and running Super Bowl ads, creating massive exposure for the brand with cross-generational appeal.

In the teaser for this ad (see above), singer and actress Addison Rae uses her dance skills to train the mystery star of NERDS' Big Game ad to the tune of Irene Cara's “What a Feeling” I'm helping you do that. Ray is the perfect choice for this ad, given her huge social media following that skews towards Gen Z, which is NERDS' core target market. With 88 million of her TikTok followers and over 30 million of her Instagram followers, Rae's social media opens the door to high exposure for her teasers. Meanwhile, choosing “What a Feeling” from her widely viewed 1983 film Flashdance allows for cross-generational appeal.

Magen Hanrahan, senior vice president of Ferrara's 1908x Marketing Center, says choosing Ray was an easy choice. “Most people love NERDS, but our core consumer is Gen Z, so we wanted to connect with them through well-known talent working in the channels they care about most. What also drew us to Addison Rae was her genuine love for the brand, combined with her dance background.”

The use of Ray in the teaser, along with running Super Bowl ads, is already paying off for NERDS by leveraging the power of influencer marketing. In his first week since the teaser went live, he received over 459,000 engagements and over 605.5 million potential impressions, according to data collected by social media experts Sprout Social. It was done. Additionally, Addison Rae's own post earned her 4 million views, 232,200 likes, and over 500 comments. Her NERDS post received 8,700 views, 600 likes, and 30 comments. These results make sense considering the importance of influencer marketing in your social media strategy. As reported in a recent survey conducted by Sprout Social, 81% of social marketers say influencer marketing is essential to their social media strategy.

NERDS' in-game ad, scheduled to run in Q2, is the first in the brand's 40-year history. A spot introducing the brand character “Gummy”, which is based on the brand's product “Gummy Cluster”. This character personifies the unique product combination of “crunchy and gummy” in the same candy. The ad then returns to Ray, who is pictured happily eating her NERDS on a coach later in the ad. The Super Bowl, which attracts more than 100 million viewers annually, is the perfect place to raise awareness of your brand's character. Notably, at least three other brands are introducing brand characters into this year's Super Bowl ads: Drumsticks, Popeyes, and Starry (PepsiCo).

For NERDS, the gummies are the first new characters since 1983, when the brand introduced the original purple, pink, orange and red NERDS characters (later joined by similar blue, green and yellow characters). Gummies are meant to contrast with existing characters, but also complement them. In this ad, the existing character is also given an updated look, including his 3D glow-up, allowing the character's expression and personality to be further expressed with a playful vibe.

Greg Guidotti, Ferrara's chief marketing officer, explains the advertising goal: And given the brand's success, we know that once consumers try it, they'll keep coming back. If we can get even more people to try and love our portfolio and NERDS Gummies, and of course if NERDS can continue to maintain its growth trajectory and industry leadership position. We consider our spot a success. Sugar candy department. ”

Guidotti also explained the decision to run a Super Bowl ad to commemorate the brand. “One of the things I'm most proud of is that consumer love for NERDS Gummy Clusters has helped the brand grow from $50 million in retail sales to $500 million in just five years, leading to a “We're celebrating this growth with our fans at the Big Game and showing up to them bolder and louder than ever to celebrate their favorite candy, NERDS.” “We wanted to introduce NERDS Gummy, a new character created to resemble the NERDS Gummy,” he says. Gummy cluster. ”

Acknowledging the campaign’s social media goals, Hanrahan said: “We want to maintain the brand's momentum and status as a pop culture icon. We want people to talk about NERDS.” Everyday fans, celebrities, and influencers alike love the brand, especially its fans. We see you showing your love for the popular NERDS gummy clusters on social. ”

Hanrahan added that the advertising will be supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign across retail, first-party channels, PR and paid channels. This includes analysis of results publicity, shopper marketing, paid media across social and digital channels (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, etc.), linear TV (ABC, CBS, ESPN, Comedy Central, TBS, etc.) included. ) and connected TV (Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc.).

Clearly, NERDS is working to combine influencer marketing with the potential impact of Super Bowl advertising. Guidotti highlights the opportunity for brands to reach potential new buyers while encouraging repeat purchases from current buyers, arguing:

“We found that almost two in three buyers (approximately 64%) have repeatedly purchased NERDS products, and one in four buyers (22.4%) have purchased NERDS products six times in the past year. This level of repeat purchase is unprecedented in any category. We were able to drive this unprecedented NERDS success with just 16% household penetration. means 84% ​​of households have not yet tried the product. Among the major confectionery brands, only NERDS has seen a significant increase in household penetration over the past year. Given the huge size of the big game's audience, we know now is the right time to make this bold move.”

From the outside, the NERDS campaign appears to be working. Rachael Goulet, director of social media at Sprout Social, characterizes NERDS' efforts as a great example of his marketing as a strategic influencer. She said:

“Using Addison’s TikTok and Instagram platforms to preview the mystery reveal leading up to the brand’s big moment on February 11th will not only reach a large number of new viewers for NERDS, but also drive engagement. It's a great way to elevate, encourage conversation, and generate excitement ahead of a match. And having the TikTok star appear as a dance coach in the teaser feels authentic and true to her brand, It resonates with viewers. And with the teaser garnering over 1 million views and 100,000 engagements within hours, NERDS is leveraging this rich social data to gauge consumer reactions. See, discover trends, understand what’s resonating, and make real-time adjustments to maximize your marketing spend.”

This year's Super Bowl has seen an increase in tie-ups with influencers with many fans, such as Lionel Messi of Michelob Ultra and Kris Jenner of Oreo Cookies. Links like this make a lot of sense in today's media environment, given the need for Super Bowl ads to reach a wide audience. NERDS' strategy is to use influencers/celebrities with large social media followings among Gen Z to gain exposure prior to in-game spots, ensuring that ads reach both core and broader target audiences. You will be able to reach both effectively.

credit: GOLIN & Ferrara developed the NERDS teaser concept and UNIT9 Films produced the creative. Mindshare handled paid media and AUC handled retail. Digitas Chicago developed the game day spot concept and characters with production led by Biscuit Filmworks and animation by Framestore, with assistance from UNIT9 Films.