Mondelez?s Oreo is focusing on mobile to promote a thinner cookie meant to retain some customers, leveraging a mix of social to distribute free samples, a mobile microsite, video and humorous guidelines for how to eat the new snack.

The original Oreo cookie is growing up and thinning out in its latest product, Oreo Thins, a version of the cookie the brand is marketing as sophisticated and it is leveraging mobile and social media to cater to the more mature demographic. The cookie brand is offering free samples through a social media contest linked to a mobile microsite, sharing mobile video and informing users of a the new etiquette that comes along with the sophisticated snack. 

"Social is an important element of the launch of Oreo Thins, and the brand overall," said Patricia Gonzalez, senior brand manager at Mondelez International. "Starting today, we are sharing a 'Thinvitation' on Oreo social channels, Twitter and Instagram, where cookie fans can obtain a one-time-only code they can enter at OreoThinvitation.com for a chance to receive a free taste before they hit shelves on July 13."

Sophisticated marketing
The new Oreo Thins cookie is Oreo?s effort to cater to older millennials, whom the company believes may have grown out of the traditional Oreo cookie. The campaign surrounding its release is drumming up awareness through social media and a mobile microsite.

To cause a stir prior to the cookie?s widespread release, the brand is offering free samples to social media users that receive a ?Thinvitation.? Through various social media channels, users can reach out to receive a code to be entered on the microsite. 


Oreo's microsite offering free samples to social media users with the code

Consumers are ?RSVPing? to the Thinvitation with this code and the first 1,000 users inputting the code will win a sample of the product before it reaches shelves. Also through its social media pages, Oreo will be releasing a video that puts a humorous spin on the age-old joke about how people often extend a pinky while eating or drinking a sophisticated item.

The brand will be sharing a series of comedic rules and etiquette guidelines on how to properly enjoy the new slimmed down version of the Oreo.

Oreo Thins are already generating a widespread buzz through social media. The thinning of the cookie themselves has led consumers to playfully discuss the size reduction of the cookie.

Social media users took to Twitter and Facebook declaring statements such as the new product only means people will feel less guilty when the entire box is devoured, the name of the cookie should be ?OreNo? and that the people demand larger Oreos, not thinner. One user claimed to be hoping for a pizza-sized cookie.

Mobile ups-and-downs
The thinner cookie is not the only product that Oreo has caused a stir through social media. The brand has been introducing a wide-range of new innovative products that generate a significant social buzz.

For instance the brand triggered social media buzz this winter as it unveiled its new Red Velvet Oreos in time for Valentine?s Day, underscoring how Twitter and Facebook can help drive new product introductions (see more). 

It is clear that discussion is high, but the Oreo Thins event may not translate into sales for the brand as the discussion, while comedic, still leans more towards the negative.

While Oreo's always-on mobile presence has made the likeable Mondelez International cookie one of the few fast-moving consumer goods brands to successfully leverage the smartphone boom, its challenge ? and opportunity ? lies in converting more of that brand love into direct sales, a recent Mobile Marketer analysis suggested (see more). 

"Oreo Thins offer a new snacking experience for anyone looking for a more grown-up option to satisfy that need-something-sweet now moment, while still delivering the delicious flavor of a classic Oreo cookie and we hope the campaign drives nationwide trial and engagement for our delicious new Oreo Thins varieties," Ms. Gonzalez said. 

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer