Why is this work relevant for PR?

Rather than a brand trying to force a debate or squeeze a brand message into a media channel, this campaign tapped into an existing conversation in order to own it and create as much organic conversation as possible. It used social channels (TikTok and Twitter) in an organic and genuine way, partnering with creators to create native content and fuel a debate in their own unique ways to generate earned media, rather than running traditional 'ads' or official brand messaging. Once we'd stoked the controversy, we then amplified the debate through our owned channels on Twitter with paid poll posts.

Background

‘Have a break, Have a KitKat’ has been an iconic brand idea for 65 years. But to young people, iconic means old. So we needed to make an ‘old’ campaign excite a new generation and make the brand relevant to a younger audience that didn't necessarily have as strong a connection to the brand as previous generations did.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Rather than trying to persuade a new generation to adopt ‘Have a break’, we invited them to reject it instead, by dismissing one of the world's most famous product rituals. We acknowledged a long-running internet debate about the 'right way' to eat a KitKat, and unofficially gave our audience license to 'Have a bite' by ignoring the age old product ritual and taking one giant bite out of the iconic bar. First, we re-ignited the debate by partnering with TikTok creators to create their own content that organically featured them eating a KitKat in a triggering way. This provoked followers to respond with outrage. KitKat responded with an unexpected edit of the brand film showing the bite. This was followed up by daily sponsored polls and posts designed to generate passionate discussion, making this new generation start to defend the proper way to 'Have a break'.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Our sceptical Gen-Z audience doesn't want to be told what to do by brands. So instead of over-investing in paid media, our strategy was to seed a conversation through social, to create a cultural moment they would want to be part of. We identified that the way people ate KitKats had proved controversial in the past, so reignited the debate. To ensure it triggered a response, we needed to make it feel as organic as possible and not manufactured by the brand. We carefully selected TikTok creators based on their active audiences and content style, giving them flexibility to create content based on our brief, in a way that they knew would resonate with their followers. The triggering nature of the issue meant that there’d be some controversy – controversy we could amplify to maximise our earned media. We then stoked that with bespoke packaging sent to influencers and publications.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

We began by partnering with TikTok creators to seriously trigger their followers by taking one big bite from their KitKat instead of 'breaking' a finger the official way. The internet reacted in a big way and debate raged, creating a huge amount of conversation in the first 48 hours. When the controversy was at its peak, KitKat took the opportunity to break their silence. A special cut of the recent brand TVC starring Aussie screen legend Michael Caton officially acknowledged the issue and asked 'Is this wrong?', before a packaging re-design, series of paid social polls, and live social interactions with other brands and Aussie celebs, threw more fire onto the debate. The issue was so polarising that it was covered in a 2 minute segment on national news.

List the results (30% of vote)

56.3M in PR reach The issue was so polarising that it was covered in a 2 minute segment on national news. 27M social impressions (50% over KPI) 4.3 million views in 48 hours 11.16% engagement on Tiktok (4X the market benchmark)