Dive Brief:

• Clif Kid, the Clif Bar-owned food brand targeting younger consumers, is aiming to inspire confidence in kids with a back-to-school campaign supported by 13-year-old pro skateboarder and Olympian Sky Brown, according to a press release.
• A mobile augmented reality (AR) experience will allow kids to wear Sky Brown's helmet in photos and videos. In addition, a limited number of "sponsorship" packs — featuring two Brown-inspired stickers to decorate school materials and a box of Zbar Iced Oatmeal Cookies with limited-edition packaging — will be doled out each Wednesday through September to children whose parents sign up through CLIFKidSkyIsTheLimit.com. The first release was yesterday (Sept. 8).
• The campaign sees the energy food brand using mobile tech and comforting gifts to ingratiate itself with parents by supporting their children during an uncertain school year.

Dive Insight:

Clif Kid is aiming to excite young students for the return of school by providing them with a mobile AR experience via Instagram and "sponsorship" packs. A digital filter of Sky Brown's helmet, which is intended to appear in photos and videos of children displaying their talents, could help to improve a particularly stressful time for kids, especially those young enough to be Clif Kid's main target consumers. Three animated GIFs available on mobile devices and featuring Brown and her personal motto, "Sky is the Limit," could also entertain kids and turn the transitional period into a joyful one.

AR activations have become an effective method for marketers looking to create interactive branded experiences. The technology is attention-grabbing, which is why brands often set their activations on social media platforms popular among younger audiences. As AR's popularity grows across the mobile space, shopping is becoming a primary area for which brands are using the tech.

In addition to creating an AR experience, Clif Kid is looking to "sponsor" kids with gift packs, including two sticker designs — one featuring Brown's "Sky is the Limit" motto, the other an image of her demonstrating a Frontside Air move — with colors of a beach sunset inspired by the skate park in Venice, California. Clif Kid is encouraging students to place the stickers on their school materials, which could further drive brand awareness as kids return to in-person classes.

While young athletes like Brown have received legitimate sponsorships from brands, Clif Kid's sponsorship is only nominal and meant to further fuel children's imaginations. Parents can sign up for a sponsorship by submitting their email on a microsite, which could provide Clif key first-party data to inform future targeted campaigns.

Efforts toward boosting children's confidence is especially pertinent for this year's back-to-school season given the continued spread of COVID-19, for which children under twelve still cannot be vaccinated. Nearly all parents (92%) believe their kids need extra support this school year, per a survey conducted by Meredith Corporation and cited in the press release.

The rocky return to school has also affected how marketers are advertising their products. While there is a clear resurgence in demand for back-to-school materials, marketers are relying on building confidence through largely digital tactics, which is reflected in the Clif Kid's campaign. General Mills last month also deployed a mobile activation to excite young students returning to the classroom.