Background

At the beginning of 2007, Kellogg’s Foods requested a large-scale promotion tied to the sale of the cereal Special K. This whole grain cereal is marketed for women aged 18-45 who are concerned about maintaining their figure, looking, and feeling good. Therefore, we needed to generate an idea that was tied to the brand’s strategy of keeping our consumers loyal while simultaneously providing added value through Special K.

Strategy and mechanics

The objective was to develop a promotional activity with nation wide reach and incentivise the purchase of Special K. The Special K promotion involved the Venezuelan model and fashion designer Carol Ginter. It included communication on cereal packages, a website, tv commercials, and text messaging.

Promotion Mechanics: The promotion’s mechanics consisted of:

Carol Ginter Jeans:

  • Purchase of the product with packaging related to the promotion.
  • Sending an SMS with a code inserted in the box to automatically participate in a draw for a Carol Ginter’s jeans.

Special K Model Contest:

  • Purchase of the product with packaging related to the promotion.
  • Inserting the code in the registration box on the website.
  • Providing personal details and photos.
  • Writing a brief statement explaining why they should be chosen as the next Special K model.

For the entire promotion, a website was activated for consumer participation, and a call centre was set up for information .

Role and responsibilities

As the lead of the website project, I was responsible for the look and feel of the website, I utilised elements from the overarching campaign to create a cohesive and visually appealing site. The implementation of the microsite involved close collaboration with a larger team of contractor developers overseeing the entire project and ensuring client expectations were met.

Concept and Design: Creating a visually appealing and user-friendly design that aligned with the campaign’s branding.

Development: Building the microsite using Flash and Actionscript 2.0, providing a rich, interactive experience and robust functionality and a seamless user experience

Testing: Rigorous testing to ensure all features worked correctly and the site could handle the expected traffic.

Launch and Monitoring: Launching the microsite in tandem with the overall campaign and continuously monitoring performance and extracting participants information.

Key features

Promotion Participation: Consumers could enter promotional codes from Special K packaging to participate in the Special K model contest.

BMI Calculator: Users could calculate their body mass index (BMI) directly on the site, providing a personalised touchpoint and encouraging ongoing engagement.

SMS Integration: Users could send SMS messages that would appear on the homepage, fostering a sense of community and shared experience.

Product Promotion: Detailed information about all Special K products, including protein bars, was readily accessible, reinforcing the brand’s value proposition.

Results

The microsite was a significant success and an integral part of the Special K promotion. Key achievements included:

User engagement: The interactive features such as the BMI calculator and SMS integration kept users engaged and returning to the site.

Increased sales: The promotion led to a notable increase in Special K product sales, with six hundred and fifty thousand promotional codes printed and initial draws for eight hundred and fifty pairs of jeans.

Extended campaign: Due to the success and customer demand, the promotion was extended, further boosting sales and brand loyalty.

Product sell-out: The product sold out at points of sale, achieving our main objectives of sales, positioning, creation of Inside, and development of a promotion with a different, more complex mechanic than a simple draw.