The Campaign

When we researched our audience’s media behavior we uncovered a powerful insight: In the age of big data the element of surprise is lost. In search, newsfeeds, even online advertising you see what you always see because the algorithm that delivers your content is based on your past behavior. Even your social feed is filtered based on what the algorithm thinks you might want to see. You’re friends with hundreds of people but really interact with only a handful. Even though there is an infinite amount of information we are more limited than ever in what we actually get to see. No more surprises. Yet we all know that really great things come about by chance; serendipity is the basis of creativity; and NOT following the advice on TripAdvisor lets you discover the great stuff. Friends are just strangers you haven't yet met – especially in China’s megalopolis Tier 1 cities.

Creative Execution

In Chengdu we put up a gigantic digital screen in one of the most populated squares. Teaser content (showcasing the new visual identity) got the audience curious and a camera transmitted a live view of the audience. A giant Doublemint Arrow came on, randomly pointed out two complete strangers and nudged them to get to know each other. Strangers shaking hands, giving each other hugs – even rival fans overcoming the dislike for each other. In Shanghai we went further: we partnered with dating website Zhenai.com and invited their members to our event. This time, the Doublemint Arrow randomly connected future lovers – and sent them on blind dates. From “Random Connections” to romance. From Big & Bold to blushing.

Honestly, the results surprised even us. In Chengdu we reached over 6k people in just two hours, in Shanghai it was more than 5k people in one hour – a coverage of more than 139% vs. the average coverage of OOH media in these locations. The video content we spread on social created over 117m impressions in just two weeks, nearly 90% of which was Earned Media. Which was 10x of what we had set out to do. The total forwarding rate of our content was an outstanding 215% and the comment rate came in at 184% vs. the average viral content on Weibo Social. And, finally, even sales were phenomenal: our idea generated best sales result in over 2 years and the off-take over-delivered by 8% vs. its objectives. In short, the results were iconic – truly befitting the “Icon of Connections”.

Large scale billboards typically are used for big and bold messages but usually they are not terribly engaging – especially in a country in which the big cities are covered with them. For Doublemint we used two huge digital billboards not only to engage with consumers but to get random people on the street to engage with each other. Thus we created a truly social stunt that gave new relevance to the brand as the ‘Icon of Connections’.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

We asked ourselves: can we spark new connections by re-introducing the element of surprise? Can we bring the brand’s promise to life in a way that didn’t feel like an ad? Based on our research, Social was the place to be: our audience, young adults from 16 to 35, are always on and always social. But our research also indicated that they were literally out on the street every day. So a carefully chosen OOH placement was sure to reach thousands of them in just a short period of time. Extend that into social and we would reach millions. Of course we wanted to showcase the brand’s new look – after all this was still a launch campaign. But more importantly, we wanted to initiate conversations between strangers. A surprising call to action. Or should we say a “call to connection”.