Oikos yogurt turns grocery carrying into a TikTok challenge

Brief:

Danone's Oikos Triple Zero yogurt brand started a TikTok channel with a branded hashtag challenge aimed at football fans. The "One Trip Challenge" asks users to share videos of themselves carrying at least four shopping bags packed with groceries in one trip to show how the non-fat Greek yogurt gives them strength, per an announcement.
Oikos Triple Zero is offering TikTok users a chance to win $15,000 in groceries and a one-year supply of the yogurt for posting the videos with the #OikosOneTrip and #sweepstakes hashtags and following the @OikosProtein handle on the video-sharing app. The challenge started on Sept. 30 and runs through Oct. 31. TikTok influencers Demi Bagby, Trevor Bell, James Henry, Modern Tarzan and Katie Austin are promoting the #OikosOneTrip challenge on their channels.
The effort to engage NFL fans also includes a soundtrack that people can include in their video entries and is part of Oikos' "Stronger Makes Everything Better" campaign that features TV commercials starring New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. In one of the spots, he carries grocery bags stuffed with Oikos yogurt from the car.

Insight:

Oikos Triple Zero's branded hashtag challenge extends the yogurt brand's sponsorship of the NFL to TikTok, giving the brand an opportunity to engage football fans who may not be able to attend stadium games this year but are still looking for ways to feel a part of the experience. Athletes participating in Oikos' broader "Stronger Makes Everything Better" campaign include Juju Smith-Schuster, Anthony 'Spice' Adams, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot and Zach and Julie Ertz.

The challenge can help the brand to engage a younger audience in the U.S., where TikTok claims it has 100 million users, including 50 million who check in with the app every day. More than 60% of TikTok's users in the U.S. are under the age of 30, per App Ape data cited by Statista, making Oikos' campaign more likely to reach consumers who tend to seek healthier, more convenient food.

By offering a chance to win $15,000 and a year of free products, Oikos is giving TikTok users a better incentive to engage with the campaign. Seventy-five percent of consumers said they're unlikely to use a branded hashtag from a company in a post, while 73% wouldn't create branded videos, a survey by Visual Objects found.

Sweepstakes or other giveaways can inspire participation among social media users and better ensure that a challenge reaches a broader group of consumers. Brands including Aldo, Burger King, Chipotle Mexican Grill, E.l.f. Cosmetics, Mastercard, SmileDirectClub, Forever 21 and 7-Eleven have run hashtag challenges to engage TikTok users.

Oikos' efforts on TikTok arrive the same week that rival yogurt brand Yoplait launched a dance challenge on Instagram Reels, the photo-sharing app's TikTok-like feature for viral videos. Yoplait, which is owned by General Mills, enlisted Jennifer Lopez for the challenge that asks Instagram users to share videos using her new single "Pa Ti."

Yoplait's campaign is a possible sign that brands may be shifting resources to Instagram, which has a broader, more established user base in the U.S. thank TikTok. TikTok's parent company ByteDance is seeking a deal to avoid a ban in the U.S. About three quarters (76%) of Americans support the ban in some form, according to a survey of consumers by agency Horizon Media that also found 62% of Americans don't trust TikTok to secure their data.