Dive Brief:
- Frito-Lay's Tostitos tortilla chip brand is rolling out limited-edition "lucky bag" packaging for NFL teams ahead of the 2017 season, according to a company press release. The bags feature custom graphics including each of the team's logos, along with depictions of specific traditions that are considered "lucky" such as the Seattle Seahawks fans raising the 12 Flag or the Pittsburg Steelers' "terrible towel."
- Each piece of packaging also includes a Snapcode that unlocks digital content showing game day rituals for the team featured on the bag like the Lambeau Leap in Green Bay, Minnesota's Gjallarhorn, the Denver Mile High Salute and more. Every ritual can be viewed at Tostitos.com.
- Tostitos is promoting the packaging play with a series of 30-second digital video spots dedicated to each team. Fans can also share the hashtag #LuckyBags for a chance to be featured on Tostitos' official Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages.
Dive Insight:
Specialty packaging has long been a tactic to drive interest in packaged foods around big sales periods — game day viewing parties almost always have chips and dip, along with beer — and Tostitos is hardly the first brand to tailor its product to show off NFL teams.
However, the additional digital element offered via the Snapcodes shows how marketers can leverage mobile phones to extend physical activations and deliver more robust, relevant content that's likely to get fans excited. The Frito-Lay brand creating individual spots for each team receiving the custom treatment rounds out a surprisingly extensive digital push behind the effort.
This isn't the first innovative packaging play this year from Frito-Lay, which is owned by PepsiCo. In April, it turned bags of Doritos into working cassette tape decks that tied into the retro-flavored soundtrack of Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."
