Nabisco snacks on Winter Olympics with TV spots, custom Twitter emojis

Dive Brief:

Mondelez International's Nabisco kicked off a multichannel campaign for snack brands Oreo, Ritz and Chips Ahoy! for the Winter Olympics. The effort features two-time gold medalist Ted Ligety and snowboarder Chloe Kim and includes TV spots, digital banner ads on NBC, custom Twitter emojis and a social media contest via the hashtag #CantMissMoments, a press release announced.
Throughout the Games, Nabisco will debut a series of Olympics-themed videos online. The three snack brands will flaunt special Team USA packaging in the month of February, and individual Oreo cookies will be embossed with Team USA emblems. Ideas for "Cheer-Worthy Snacks" and other patriotic recipes will be available on Nabisco's Pinterest page and Snackworks.com.
Fans can create their own #CantMissMoments by sharing photos of themselves biting into their favorite Nabisco snack, in a nod to Olympic athletes biting into their medals during award ceremonies, through #BiteToWinSweepstakes for a chance to win a $10,000 entertainment package or smaller prizes awarded each day of the Games.

Dive Insight:

As Olympics viewership continues to decline, marketers recognize that a TV ad alone isn't likely to reach a wide audience. Nabisco understands that multichannel campaigns can be a more effective use of its Olympics ad dollars by engaging consumers on social media and positioning the marketer as a top-of-mind snack brand for shoppers as they browse the grocery store aisles.

By tapping into the tradition of athletes biting their Olympic medals and encouraging consumers to do the same with their Oreo cookie or Ritz cracker, Nabisco is letting fans create their own shareable moments and feel like they're part of the action, seemingly making a direct play for millennials who are more likely to share everyday events with friends on social media.

Sweepstakes are another way to drive social media engagement around a brand's efforts. The campaign encourages fans to purchase the snack brands and interact with them on social media with a brand- and contest-specific hashtag that serve as a hub for relevant user-generated content online. The sweepstakes, Pinterest recipes and other social media-based efforts in this campaign serve as connective tissue to bridge the company's online efforts around #CantMissMoments and the real world to encourage sales of Nabisco's limited-edition snack packages.

Most sports fans still get excited about Team USA, despite not always tuning in to the games. Sports fans are more likely to live stream the specific events they want to see or search for interviews, highlights or other content surrounding their favorite sports and athletes. Featuring Olympians and their trials and triumphs in marketing campaigns has been a decades-long strategy for many major brands to connect with consumers. For example, Protcer & Gamble brand Head & Shoulders this year is featuring openly gay U.S. freeskier Gus Kenworthy in a series of videos highlighting his personal journey, as well as digital and in-store events.