Dive Brief:

• Mondelez International's Kinh Do brand teamed with Publicis, Digitas Vietnam and artificial intelligence (AI) startup D-ID on an activation around the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in Vietnam, according to a press release. Kinh Do is a brand of mooncakes that are central to the festival.
• As part of the activation, Mondelez set up a website employing D-ID's Group Stitchback technology, which can bring static photographs to life by leveraging machine learning (ML) to stitch together animated faces. Consumers could create a personalized Kinh Do greeting and photo with a holiday message that can be shared across social media.
• The campaign around the festival, which was celebrated on Sept. 21, exceeded all key performance indicators (KPIs), per the press release. It demonstrates how brands and their agency partners can use AI and ML to engage with consumers in an interactive, personalized way at scale.

Dive Insight:

Mondelez's Kinh Do mooncake brand used new tech to create a user-driven digital experience around the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in Vietnam. The novelty of the activation — turning old Moon Festival memories into animated clips — interested consumers and helped the effort exceed KPIs. It also did so in a way that enables consumers to leverage digital tools to come together at a time when the pandemic is still upending in-person holiday gatherings and traditions.

"This year — more than ever given the current pandemic — celebrating the season with loved ones is vital in upholding the stories of cherished moments in years gone by. Mondelez is proud to uphold those values by enabling consumers to revisit, personalize and share those cherished memories," Simon Crowther, Vietnam marketing director at Mondelez, said in a statement.

Mondelez's creative and data agency partners, Publicis and Digitas Vietnam, respectively, were able to team with Tel Aviv-based AI company D-ID on the activation, demonstrating how agency holding companies can use their scale to find tech partners to elevate campaign experiences. D-ID has previously partnered with Warner Bros. Pictures and India's leading short-video app Josh, per the release.

Personalization has been used in the marketing of other Mondelez brands, including flagship cookie brand Oreo. However, even as personalization has been a priority for marketers for years, many continue to struggle with the technology used for its implementation. Mondelez's partnership with its agency partners and an AI/ML startup seemed to have alleviated some of those issues for its Kinh Do brand.