“A glass and a half” can make a big difference! This chocolate brand believes in the power of your words!

FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Guerrilla Marketing. That’s one of the awesome ways to unconventionally market your brand to your target market. It’s fun, creative, exciting, and helps people easily remember your brand! Aside from that, this marketing strategy is one way to engage with consumers and generate buzz about your brand’s products and services. Keep reading to know how this famous confectionary company positively reinforced that there’s “a glass and a half” of kindness in everyone. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

“A glass and a half” can make a big difference! This chocolate brand believes in the power of your words! If you’re encouraged to donate WORDS… would you believe that you can? YES! It’s possible to donate your words, just like what this famous confectionery company’s heartfelt campaign did. Cadbury is a British multinational confectionery company that has been wholly owned by Mondelez International since 2010. Founded 196 years ago, the company is headquartered in Uxbridge, London and is now the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars. Combating older age loneliness According to a 2018 report from UK’s largest charity for the elderly Age UK, loneliness has been a daily reality for 1.4 million elderlies in the country. Within that population, 225,000 elderlies often go through a whole week without speaking to anyone at all. As a heritage company with a history of addressing social problems in Britain, Cadbury tackled the issue by creating the “Donate Your Words” Campaign. The short film featuring three elderlies in the UK helped the chocolate company realize that for older people who are living alone, nothing is more important than having others acknowledge that they still exist. A “few little words” may seem like a small thing but for these elderlies, it makes so much difference in their lives. As a first step in the campaign, Cadbury removed all the words from its iconic Dairy Milk bar in support of Age UK. Cadbury only retained Dairy Milk’s logo, the glass and a half of pouring milk. Removing the words from Dairy Milk’s packaging is Cadbury’s indication that instead of simply giving the chocolate bar to an elderly and walking away after that, why not encourage a conversation? Even just a simple sentence like, “Hello, Grandma/Grandpa! This is a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar and I’m giving it to you because I care for you or remember you” can mean so much to them. For each Dairy Milk bar that was sold during the campaign, Cadbury donated GBp 30 (equivalent to USD 0.39) to Age UK. The public’s response was overwhelming, with people “donating their words” through small and large acts of kindness―learning a neighbor’s name to ensure a friendly hello each morning, children regularly scheduling calls with an elderly relative, and others volunteering at Age UK. Aside from that, Cadbury partnered with VCCP, an international integrated communications agency, to create the September 2019 TV ad titled, “Fence.” The short film was directed by Frederic Planchon, the same director behind Cadbury Dairy Milk’s “Mum’s Birthday” film. “Fence” revolves around the story of an old man who is living on his own. As he goes about his daily solitude, the only disturbance he experiences is the noisy children next door, who always accidentally lose their toys over his fence. Every time the children lose their toys, the old man throws the toys back over the fence to return those things to the children―a small selfless act on his part. In order to thank the old man for always returning their lost toys, the children deliberately throw a bar of Dairy Milk chocolate over the fence, telling the old man that it should not be returned to them. The film ends with Cadbury’s historic tagline, “There’s a glass and a half” of kindness in everyone. “Fence” was also uploaded on Cadbury’s official YouTube channel and as of October 2020, the film has received 57,507 views. Following the video ad, Cadbury set up a pop up charity shop in Cambridge in October 2019. The public didn’t need to pay anything to get the items they wanted from the shop; the items were exchanged for promises to talk to an elderly person as part of Cadbury’s “Donate Your Words” Campaign. According to Bethany Wenn, Cadbury’s Brand Executive, the shop was a “huge success and we hope it goes some way in making a difference to the community.” RESULTS By the end of the campaign in February 2020, Cadbury’s bar sales raised GBP 400,000 for Age UK and 990,000 people heeded the call to “donate their words” to the elderly. Aside from that, the campaign garnered coverage from a total of 170 media outlets throughout its course. Market research company YouGov’s brand tracking data shows Cadbury’s buzz scores (a net measure of whether consumers have heard anything about a brand over the last two weeks) increased since the launch of the campaign. Among the general public, the chocolate company’s buzz scores rose from 8.7 to 11 points and from 3.8 to 8.9 points among the older age group (those over 65 years old). Cadbury’s Word of Mouth Exposure scores grew from 15.8 to 17.8 points after the campaign. Lastly, Cadbury’s brand health metrics showed that the brand or the new advertisement wasn’t just being noticed or talked about, but consumers were actually taking action–the likelihood of a customer purchasing a brand product increased by 4.6 points. In May 2020, Cadbury and Age UK’s “Donate Your Words” Campaign was named the Marketing Partnership of the Year at the Business Charity Awards. A simple act (or words) of kindness can go a long way. Carrying its belief that a person’s words have the capacity to brighten someone’s day, Cadbury was able to create a campaign that encouraged people to find their “glass and a half” in kindness and generosity. Sharing is caring. Just like Cadbury, you can spark positivity and inspiration among your target market using your brand’s tagline. Use your brand’s vision to bring out the best in people! This may not only result in a sales increase but also happier lives among those impacted by your campaign. Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerilla Marketing! Do you want to learn about how Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” Campaign boosts its online memberships and subscriptions? See it on next week’s Gorillas of the Guerilla Marketing!