Dive Brief:
- Wonderful Pistachios is launching an ambitious campaign on Twitch and YouTube to appeal to gamers as a healthy snacking alternative, per an announcement emailed to Marketing Dive. The $1 million execution is the first partnership between Wonderful and Twitch, and will chiefly promote the brand's new No Shells flavors of BBQ and Sea Salt and Vinegar.
- The brand, which is owned by The Wonderful Co., will also tap social media platforms Snapchat and TikTok in an effort to reach younger consumers via custom augmented reality (AR) ad formats offered through both apps. The social push includes additional creative on Instagram and Facebook.
- The campaign sees Wonderful targeting highly sought-after audiences through the mobile platforms on which they spend much of their time and will run through the summer in the U.S. and Canada. In this respect, the brand is the latest to invest in mobile channels and the consumers inhabiting them.
Dive Insight:
While ambitious in reach, Wonderful's campaign employs a highly tailored approach by activating popular mobile services to engage their audiences. For gamers, that includes Twitch and YouTube, the two most widely used platforms for esports streaming and viewing. To reach users, Wonderful will use pre-roll ads on Twitch and YouTube in channels featuring game play content. And while many users access these services via desktop, 35% of Twitch views come from mobile, as do more than 70% of views on YouTube, according to Backlinko data.
As people spent more time at home during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020, Twitch saw 83% growth in hours watched compared with 2019. Likewise, YouTube Gaming had its best year on record. Thus, it is no surprise that Wonderful is hoping to widen its reach to the esports demographic. At the same time, there is ample room in the market for the brand's healthy snack, considering gamers are prone to reaching for unhealthy foods.
Other brands that noticed potential demand for their products among the esports audience have recently deployed similar tactics. Excedrin last month launched a Twitch campaign to become the gaming community's official migraine treatment, while E.l.f. Cosmetics premiered a contest on TikTok to appeal to oft-overlooked female gamers.
By adding activations on Snapchat and TikTok, two of the most popular mobile platforms for Gen Z, Wonderful can court not only young gamers but young consumers in general. The snack brand will attempt to leverage its plant protein product in a space where cultural trends tend to gain speed.
Wonderful is also utilizing AR technology that has become a frequent tactic for brands wanting to more deeply engage with consumers on their smartphones. Tostitos in March launched a similar creation with its celebrity-backed Lens, and Pizza Hut that same month used QR codes to turn its boxes into digital Pac-Man games.
