Cadbury Creme Egg Twisted - Social Media (Updated July 22, 2009)

Social media is all the buzz these days but so many people are not quite sure exactly what it is and how it works - Cadbury in the UK show us how it is done with creativity and flare! In simple terms, social media focuses on trying to build positive word-of-mouth messages by using web 2.0 interactive tools to engage consumers and encourage opinion leaders to spread positive messages to their friends, followers, or contacts. The tools often used are social media websites such as Facebook, My Space, YouTube, Flikr, and Twitter. Microsites are also often used as a conduit for user-generated-content, while public relations can play a significant role in seeding messages with loyal users, influential journalists, and bloggers. The intent is to catch the attention of opinion leaders in the community who will rapidly spread the message.

The recent Cadbury Creme Egg Twisted campaign in the UK is inspiring in its creative use of traditional media and social media to create a buzz throughout the UK and further afield. This is how it goes:

In mid-late May 2009 Cadbury launched their new irreverent brand, Cadbury Creme Egg Twisted, a year-round chocolate bar with the traditional Creme Egg filling which was usually only available at Easter. The campaign, GOO ON THE LOOSE, followed on the heels of Cadbury’s very successful Creme Egg campaign and included a TV spot, (also uploaded on YouTube), a direct mail piece (sent to bloggers/fans/journalists) containing a box with 3 Creme Egg Twisted bars (one having escaped), a microsite explaining the social media component at http://www.cremeeggtwisted.com/, a Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/cremeeggtwisted, and a Twitter account at http://twitter.com/cremeeggtwisted. The social media component, explained on their microsite, included finding 10 super agents and eventually a top agent, tasked with finding the escaped Twisted Goo. To become a super agent you needed to find the missing bars through clues sent out via Twitter. The 10 top super agents were given flip video cameras to film their quests in search of the missing bars. Super Agents were tasked with taking photos, recording YouTube videos, sending out tweets, and traveling across the UK to solve the mystery. Assuming a tie-breaker the winner will advised on July 21, 2009. The agents will be judged based on their creativity of footage, social networking skills, and the lengths taken to complete the task. The grand prize is for £20,000.

It appears that no tie breaker was required, and on July 16, Dean Stokes added a short line to his Twitter update and Facebook wall that he had won! In addition, the Cadbury microsite, http://www.cremeeggtwisted.com/, now has the announcement posted on its home page, and officially Dean Stokes has won the super agent contest and the grand prize of £20,000. More details on the social media campaign run by Dean Stokes can be seen at http://mktgcliks.blogspot.com/2009/07/cadbury-goo-on-loose-campaign-announces.html.

Click below to see traditional media and social media in action. The first two TV spots are from the original Creme Egg campaign and set the tone for the Twisted product launch. This is followed by the launch spot for Creme Egg Twisted, and a viral video from Super Agent Dean Stokes. To date, over 9,700 agents have registered.

HERE TODAY GOO TOMORROW - WISK Creme Egg TV spot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqrgr4G-xTc



HERE TODAY GOO TOMORROW - HAMMER, Creme Egg TV Spot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZquTM8OcQ



GOO ON THE LOOSE, Creme Egg Twisted TV spot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06PXIPFrgeg




Agent Dean Stokes' Viral Video - Mission to London Goo on the Loose
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtdW0nJkB7s