HERSHEY, Pa., DEERFIELD, Ill. & NORTHFIELD, Ill. -- Call it the Granddaddy of All Mashups. The one that started it all. And that humble summertime campfire treat, the s’more, has brought together three rival snack and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies for a promotion in anticipation of National S’Mores Day on August 10.
The recipe for “Some Mores”—a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers—dates back to a Girl Scout cookbook from 1927, according to Wikipedia, and the first recorded use of the word “S’More” occurred in 1956.
The companies launched a video (embedded below, or click here to view) this week on social media that promotes Hershey's chocolate, Kraft Heinz's Jet-Puffed marshmallows and Mondelez's Honey Maid graham crackers as ingredients for the iconic, and essentially brandless, snack.
The goal is to extend the summer s'mores season, which tends to taper off as summer begins fading to fall and thoughts turn to heading back to school, Stacie Stauffer, a senior brand manager at Hershey, told AdAge. The strategy is to drive repeat consumption.
She asked, "How do we get those people who make that first set of s'mores to make that second set of s'mores?"
The brands will send s'mores kits to 100 people selected at random who share the video on social media and tag it with "#ShareSmore" and "#PickMe." They are also asking fans to share their first s'mores experience.
The three companies have been working together to push s'mores at retail since 2007, but this is the first time they have extended the campaign beyond stores, said the report. The agency, Droga5, is Honey Maid's regular agency. The three companies are sharing the costs equally on the program.
While Hershey and Mondelez compete in other categories, that dynamic "never really comes up for us," Stauffer said. "It really goes back to the consumer opportunity.”
Hershey, based in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader with brands including Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers and Brookside.
Deerfield, Ill.-based Mondelez International Inc. is a world leader in biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy, coffee and powdered beverages, with brands including Oreo, LU and Nabisco biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; Trident gum; Jacobs coffee and Tang powdered beverages.
The Kraft Heinz Co.'s brands include Kraft,Heinz, ABC, Capri Sun, Classico, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Ore-Ida, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters, Plasmon, Quero, Weight Watchers Smart Ones and Velveeta. Kreaft is based in Northfield, Ill., and Heinz is based in Pittsburgh.
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