Trix is holding an open casting call through Nov. 8 to find a bunny, encouraging consumers to snap a picture or a take a video and upload them to a mobile-optimized Web site, RealTrixRabbit.com. The site also includes a humorous video imaging what a bunny casting call looks like as well as a selection of submitted photos and information about General Mills? commitment to removing artificial flavors and colors from its cereals. 

?While applicants were required to submit their bunny to the Tumblr page, there was a huge social push on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter,? said Steve Bruch, associate marketing manager for General Mills Cereal. ?Mobile was a strong driver behind building awareness for the campaign since the search for a #RealTrixRabbit was driven by social conversation ? especially on Instagram ? and visuals across all social media platforms. 

?In fact, we even saw that a number of pet owners created social media accounts just to promote their pet bunny further than the RealTrixRabbit.com Tumblr page,? he said. 

The winning rabbit will be chosen based on the creativity of the submission, how well the rabbit represents the Trix rabbit and the brand as well as having cute and fun bunny ears. 

The contest is designed to build excitement around the brand as General Mills makes a commitment to remove artificial flavors and colors from all of its cereals over the next several years. 

The consumer packaged goods manufacturer has said that, by January 2016, Trix and 75 percent of its Big G cereals will be free from artificial colors and flavors. 

The campaign also has a social media component encouraging consumers to share their photos using the hash tag #RealTrixRabbit. 

The contest runs through Nov. 8. 

The campaign is the latest example of how General Mills is leveraging mobile to have fun with its brands and their mascots. 

For Halloween, General Mills' Franken Berry, Count Chocula and Boo Berry monster mascots came alive as the marketer extended a collaboration with augmented reality application Blippar that previously impacted Wheaties and other cereal brands (see story). 

This summer, Angry Birds 2 players were able to rain Honey Nut Cheerios down on the game?s piggies for a limited time in a mobile in-game integration that leveraged ad-serving technology instead of being hard coded into the platform (see story). 

For the bunny open casting call, Trix has found the campaign is a good way to build a community around pet lovers. 

?The growth of mobile opens up consumers to engage with and relate to the brand and other applicants in ways that they haven?t been able to in the past,? Mr. Bruch said. ?Not only does the growth of mobile promote UGC (user generated content) like we?re seeing with Trix, but, but it also provides consumers a way to directly engage with the brand on a two-way street, share their application and scope out the competition. 

?We saw a number of pet owners engaging with each other by tracking #RealTrixRabbit and a number of Web sites tracked the hash tag #RealTrixRabbit to scope out and showcase the most adorable competition,? he said. ?At the end of the day, the growth of mobile provides us with a strong opportunity to reach our fans, start conversations and keep the conversation going.?