Background

Frisian Flag, one of the leading manufacturers of dairy-based products for children in Indonesia. Frisian Flag 123, made for toddlers aged 1 to 3 years old, struggled to penetrate the middle-income market — Indonesia’s largest socio-economic segment — due to stiff competition. There was low brand consideration due to a lack of awareness and inconsistent brand communication. Frisian Flag lacked a strong brand proposition to communicate to consumers — a huge disadvantage as competitors were consistent with theirs. To address all these challenges, Frisian Flag 123 embarked on a nationwide campaign, Frisian Flag 123 “Catch to Grow” AR mobile campaign, with two main objectives: to increase brand awareness and engagement and to drive an uplift in brand consideration. As a secondary objective, the brand wanted to spark loyalty among customers, so their kids would continue their journey with Frisian Flag 456 as they grow.

Describe the creative idea

Brand research revealed most young mothers know very little about the “growing-up milk” category: very few read nutritional labels before making a choice, and they rely heavily on recommendations from other mothers. With that, Frisian Flag 123 needed its communications to be simple, easy to understand, and a whole lot of fun. Frisian Flag wanted to focus a campaign surrounding its adorable mascot, Ian the Giraffe, to communicate Frisian Flag 123 as the growing-up milk of choice for parents who want their kids to grow tall and healthy. Indonesian millennial parents spend most of their time on mobile, therefore Frisian Flag wanted to create a novel and engaging mobile game leveraging augmented reality (AR) technology to stand out from its competitors while enabling parents to have fun with their kids.

Describe the strategy

Frisian Flag 123 primarily targeted Indonesian millennial mothers aged 20 to 35, with at least one child aged 1 to 3. These young mothers from middle-income households are generally mobile-savvy, and avid consumers of content and mobile apps, like grocery and parenting apps to make their lives more convenient. Instead of simply viewing an ad, an immersive mobile game leveraging augmented reality (AR) technology was created to let users engage with Ian the Giraffe in real-time. Through filming themselves using their phone camera, users helped Ian grow taller with every Frisian Flag 123 milk droplet they caught using their mouths. With AR in their arsenal, Frisian Flag 123 was able to deliver its key message by making use of smart gamification in an engaging way that left users feeling happy and more aware of the brand’s benefits!

Describe the execution

Leveraging AR and Facial Gesture Recognition technology to create a unique customer experience on mobile, a highly interactive mobile game allowed the audience to interact with the Frisian Flag mascot via a platform that they’re familiar with while delivering the message that Frisian Flag 123 is the best milk for toddlers’ growth and health. Enabling the user to become a character in the game instead of playing a fictitious one—created a really immersive experience as the user interacted personally with the brand. The ad used AR and facial gesture recognition technology to create an interactive experience. Players were encouraged to ‘catch’ the Frisian Flag 123 milk droplets using their mouths in 30 seconds, and with every droplet caught, Ian the Giraffe grew visibly taller. This effectively delivered the message that drinking Frisian Flag 123 enables young kids like Ian to grow taller and healthier, all while being fun and interactive.

List the results

Engagement on the AR-powered mobile unit was a fantastic 81% — higher than the 60% industry benchmark. Click-through rates of 4.6%, more than doubled the 1-2% benchmark, indicating users were very interested to learn more. MOAT Viewability of 84.5% came in higher than the 60% benchmark and the highly engaging ad unit exceeded target KPI for Impressions of 8 million by 1 million, with the total hours spent on the ad by all users at 17,196 hours. More than ever, marketing is being driven by the wants and needs of the consumer. By leveraging AR to engage and deliver a pleasant experience to its target audience, Frisian Flag 123 was able to raise brand awareness and consideration, while standing out in a highly competitive and saturated category where brands are still inclined to deploy various traditional marketing tactics to retain customers.