PROBLEM
From traffic to pollution and over crowding, there are a million reasons for Filipino women to frown everyday. How can Hershey’s give them a million reasons to smile instead?
INSIGHT
The answer was in our chocolate bars. Research shows women often keep a Hershey bar on hand in case they needed to make a terrible day a little better. But we wanted to do more.
IDEA
Happygrams - virtual chocolate bars carrying happy thoughts that like a Hershey bar, make everyday moments better. We listened to the ups and downs of women in Manila and responded in real time with a personalized Happygram.
We even created a Happygram maker for them to make their own and share with friends needing a smile. We then selected the best Happygrams and put them on our Hershey’s chocolate bars – bringing more reasons to smile from the virtual to the real world.
CREATE A HAPPYGRAM – Users can create and share their own custom Happygrams via our fun and easy-to-use Happygram creator.
THE WORK
We designed the Happygrams based on the iconic Hershey’s bars, replacing the brand name with happy thoughts associated with personal moments girls feel an affinity for. From popular self-affirmative mantras like “HAPPY GIRLS ARE THE PRETTIEST” to complimentary “LIKE A BOSS” and reassuring “WE’VE GOT EACH OTHER”, every Happygram is meant to make the recipient smile and features a link to reveal a further message.
Clicking on the link brings users to the microsite, where they could read the deeper message on fun animated cards, creatively designed as ‘chocolate’ refrigerator magnet poetry. Users could then share the card or create their own, choosing their words, animated themes and music to send to their friends. The story of Hershey’s mission to spread joy is also told on the site, encouraging viewers to do their part by the simple act of sharing and sending to their friends.
A small media buy for sponsored ads and posts on Facebook was deemed critical for the launch. An interjection strategy to target individuals with high social following as well as a social influencer engagement plan was also formulated to increase spread and awareness for the campaign. Finally, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram fan pages and accounts were created to retain fans gained by the campaign.
THE PLATFORMS
Based on popularity, Facebook and Twitter were chosen as the main platforms to engage our audiences, with Instagram for support.
Given the dramatic growth in smartphone ownership and usage, a mobile-first approach was also considered as the best way to provide an optimized user experience for our audiences. Frequency and timeliness were also key in our social interjections with research showing our audience update their Facebook and Twitter most frequently from their mobile phones.
Built on a responsive design platform, reading Happygrams and creating one is easy and fun on any device, be it desktop, tablet, or most importantly, on a mobile smartphone used most frequently by our audiences to share their moments, even while at work or in school.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE – Users simply write down their happy thought, take a photo, and post it with the hashtag #happygrams
FROM VIRTUAL CHOCOLATES TO REAL
To further engage and reward participation, users can share their own favorite happy thoughts online via a selfie and a hashtag, for the chance to be printed on real Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars, to be made available in stores.
