June 6, 2023 • 26 mins
In my first episode of Partners in Possibility I spoke with Kristin Koepfl, VP and CMO of PepsiCo’s Quaker brand and Ian Kovalik, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of the ad and creative agency Mekanism.
We discussed the collaboration and creative process between both companies for PepsiCo’s Quaker Oats “Pregraining” Super Bowl ad and viral social media campaign based on the previous year’s “Oat Up” campaign featuring Eli Manning.
Watch the first video of the viral TikTok campaign here: https://www.tiktok.com/@quaker/video/7193345279016439046
So you can start pregraining too!
https://www.quakeroats.com
Learn more about Mekanism
https://mekanism.com
from plus company
We discussed the collaboration and creative process between both companies for PepsiCo’s Quaker Oats “Pregraining” Super Bowl ad and viral social media campaign based on the previous year’s “Oat Up” campaign featuring Eli Manning.
Watch the first video of the viral TikTok campaign here: https://www.tiktok.com/@quaker/video/7193345279016439046
So you can start pregraining too!
https://www.quakeroats.com
Learn more about Mekanism
https://mekanism.com
from plus company
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Eli, thanks for doing that,really really appreciate it. And he was
like, you know, all day, you've been giving me notes about how
to lift up my spoon, howto look in the mirror, and then
the one time I jump and followmy butt, You're like perfect. Done.
(00:25):
In this ever changing world, thesecret to create in an unforgettable marketing
campaign lies in our ability to cutthrough the noise, connect with the right
audience, and stay current. Onthis show, we look behind the curtain
to learn how the most successful marketingcampaigns were created and hear from thought leaders
in the industry. Hi, I'mBrett Marshand, CEO of Class Company.
(00:47):
We're a unique partnership of forward thinkingcreative agencies. By harnessing the power of
collaboration, we make the choices thatdrive brands forward. Is partners and Possibility.
Today on the show, I speakwith Kristin Kopfel and Ian Kvilik about
the viral Quaker Oats pregraining TikTok campaignin the run up to Super Bowl fifty
(01:08):
seven. Kristen is Vice president andCMO of PepsiCo's Quaker brand. She has
decades of experience managing campaigns for severalmajor CpG brands including Kellogg and Hillshire.
Ian is the co founder and chiefcreative officer of Mechanism, an award winning
creative agency that has earned recognition forbuilding ad campaigns for large brands and companies,
(01:30):
including Peloton, HBO, and MillerCorps. Together with their respective teams,
Kristin and Ian developed a pre grainingconcept. So today we talk about
what it takes to get in thegame, boost engagement and make gains or
grains in a viral Super Bowl campaign. It takes the right plays on and
off the field, and the helpof Eli Manning doesn't hurt well. First
(01:57):
of all, good morning. I'mjoined today by Kristen Kropfel and Ian Colville.
So Kristen is the CMO of QuakerNorth America. Welcome Kristen, and
good morning and Ian. As thefounder and chief creative officer at Mechanism,
I thought what we would do isjust start with a little bit of a
description of the actual campaign, becausenot everyone who listens to this will have
(02:20):
seen it. So maybe maybe Kristin, I get you just to tell us
a little bit about, you know, what the campaign is, and then
we'll get into the details of howit came about and how it's working and
some of the decisions you had tomake. But let's start there. Sure,
I have to preface this by QuakerOatmeal is an official sponsor of the
(02:43):
NFL, and we forged this relationshipwith the NFL a couple of years ago
because our brand and our products areall about, you know, unleashing potential
of the day ahead or of anyindividual, whether it's in a you know,
school setting or sports setting. Um. So we're official sponsor of the
(03:07):
NFL and we had aspirations to bringthe brand to the big stage, um
the NFL big stage, the biggame, and um you know, worked
with our cross functional partners such asmechanism, our comms agency or media agency
to figure out how we could hackSuper Bowl. And as the team was
(03:30):
trying to solve for how do wehack Super Bowl? How do we how
do we enter the surround without payingbig dollars for yeah, an in game
ad, this idea of pregraining cameabout and the insight behind that is all
about Super Bowl. The day ofSuper Bowl is the highest grain consumption day
(03:53):
of the year, but in liquidform hops barley mall you get, you
get the idea I know, Yeah, there you go. And so we
thought, well, wait a minute, we are an iconic one hundred and
forty five year old brand that standsfor a whole grain goodness. How do
we UM enter this grain consumption moment? And hence pre graining for the Big
(04:17):
Game was born. So that's kindof the genesis of the campaign, and
the campaign uses you know, Eliman you know, obviously who's who's come
to the forefront with his broadcast withhis brother on ESPN, which is great.
Where and why why? Eli?Was that? Was that a mechanism
decision or was that a Quaker ordid you guys do that? You know,
(04:39):
I think you know the team Iwould say mechanism put forward a number
of potential NFL greats, you know, athletes that were approachable, authentic,
but you know, also had areally great pedigree of success within the NFL.
And earlier in the season, UMwe launched paid advertising behind a campaign
(05:02):
with Eli Manning called od Up.So as we were thinking about the Super
Bowl, it was just a naturalextension of the relationship that we already had
with with Eli in our od upcampaign. Yeah, I think there's something
about Eli that just feels so naturallyQuaker in a way like he's just got
the right spirit, the right attitude, the right sense of humor, and
(05:24):
he's just so he's every you know, he's just so relatable. Hi,
I'm famous football person. Eli married. You know all about pregaming for the
Super Bowl, but what do youknow about pregraining? Pregraining with Quaker oats
is the only way to kick callSuper Bowl fifty seven? Get in here
if it's the tone of the brand. Yeah, and and Mechanism has been
(05:46):
working with us for years. Youguys really understand what Quakers all about.
Approachable, fresh, modern, whichyou know aren't aren't necessarily characteristics that come
to mind when you think about onehundred and forty five year old brand,
but it's but it is the sweetspot for the brand. And so when
we looked at Eli and we thought, oh, yeah, this is this
(06:06):
is a really really great fit umbetween what we want to accomplish and express
as a brand and what he broughtto the table. And I would tell
you so pleasantly surprised by um,how natural he is, uncomfortable he is
behind the camera. We see itin the results. You know, consumers
respond when you're giving them something thatthey can really enjoy and they can relate
(06:31):
to. Here we go, thankyeah, all right, boys, your
body come to coach. I wantoh so good. All right, let's
play catch todown. And when wegot on set, um, you know,
(06:55):
we would hand an idea to Eliand he would just run with it.
He would just dive in and indulge, and of course you would say
the lines that we we wrote him. But then he also was he's a
great improv actor, and you know, it was it was really funny because
we had had a couple of momentswhere, you know, throughout the day
(07:17):
we would give him these little noteson basic things, you know, like
how to lift up the spoon andhow to take a bite. And in
one of the little pieces, heor one of the scenarios, he does
a box jump and he jumps onthis large, oversized canister of Quaker roads
(07:41):
and as he lands on it,the whole thing collapses and he falls to
the ground. No crash pad,no stunt man or anything. Oh that
wasn't good and uh, and hewalks off set. It was like a
one take thing. He walks offset and I go, Eli, thanks
for doing that, really really appreciateit, and he was like, you
know, all day you've been givingme notes about how do you how to
(08:03):
lift up my spoon, how tolook in the air, and then the
one time I jump and follow myby, you're like perfect done. What's
the most important part of building aviral campaign to make it feel natural on
the choosing platform. That means developingthe content specifically to fit the trends of
(08:26):
the platform. So how did Mechanismand Quaker generate the right kind of engagement
while making pregraining a hit? Andwhat the heck made them choose TikTok Well,
here's how TikTok came the platform ofchoice, and you picked TikTok as
a channel, Kristen, So tellme a little bit about that. What
was the thinking behind TikTok Well,so, you know I mentioned before how
(08:50):
old the brand is, right,we all grew up and with it and
are familiar with it. But oneof the things that we were trying to
achieve with the campaign is to meetthe consumer where they were, and the
consumer happened to be on on TikTokum and as a platform, TikTok is
just you know, it's it's oneof those um positive, fun entertaining kind
(09:18):
of social social media spaces that peoplego just to kind of soaking in,
play play around and uh and uh, you know, experience something positive.
And that made you know, areally natural connection to what we were trying
to accomplish with this with this campaign. It's an amazing platform to get people
engaged, you know, because theythey can you know, experience um all
(09:43):
this great content, but then theycan also make their own content and reply
and and share it. And soI think that that's that was the the
other side of this campaign. Thatwas a lot of fun to see that
people actually really got into, youknow, this idea of pregraining and you
know, they show us how theydo it, and which was kind of
the whole It was the whole idea. Yea whole idea. So it was
(10:07):
the perfect platform to do that,that's right. So you if you recorded
your own how you pregrain then andyou tagged it, you could actually win
win tickets to the next Super Bowl. So it was it was a multi
prong strategy where we had ELI andwhat do we do eight nine videos that
were released in succession. We hada consumer promotion where if they tagged it
(10:33):
and showed us how they pregrain opportunityto win tickets to the next Super Bowl,
so super Bowl fifty eight. Andthen we also had a whole group
of influencers that we engaged along theway to supplement the content that we created
with ELI. So it was reallya whole surround program um to entertain,
(10:56):
engage and kind of put a spotlighton oatmeal breakfast is a way to kick
off kick off the day's celebration.And actually TikTok, I mean, because
we do a big report on socialmedia through our we are Social agency every
year. And one of the thingsthat's interesting about TikTok is not just how
(11:16):
engaging it is. I mean,people spend more time on TikTok than any
other social media platform, which isamazing considering its shorts, right you would
think it would be YouTube or somethingelse. But also it has huge engagement
in the morning. I mean,it's one of the things that people,
especially younger gen zs look at firstthing, So that kind of makes sense
to do it with Quaker Roads.The other part of the process that I
(11:43):
would that I would say is importantis to trust the process, Right,
So when you go into an environmentlike TikTok, you have to design or
you have to design for the channel. Yeah, design the creative so that
it is something that people who areon the social media platform actually want to
(12:05):
consume and are interested in because you'recompeting with it with a lot out there.
And so when um, when you'reused to in our shoes, you
know, being analytical and having abrief and tracking results and checking the creative
against kind of your your your listof does it do X, y Z,
(12:26):
and knowing and knowing the script rightand knowing everywhere that is going to
be said right and knowing the script. So going into this you had you
had to trust that the strategy wasright, trust that the agency um knows
the brand, and trust that thedirector is going to get what they need
and then you just let it rip. So, you know, being being
(12:48):
open to the magic of unscripted becauseyou know you've got the right partners,
you have a tight strategy is um. It's easier to do all right when
you have the right partners and youhave the right strategy, and then that's
really when um, when you getyou know, beautiful moments like the ducky
(13:11):
or my favorite, the crochet footballscene. It just or or magic spoon
or lucky spoon. Umu. Thelucky spoon take I think is it's probably
my favorite. My lucky spoon seeckyspoon? Why a lucky spoon? Oh
(13:43):
there it is? Thank you.Someone hit my lucky spoon. But I
found it. Everything was shot ina TikTok native way, you know.
So it was nice because we wereout, We were you know, going
(14:03):
beyond the confines of like a fifteensecond or thirty second spot. So we
had this really great sense of freedom. And can we talk results though,
because I think the approach that weall took together was incredibly effective. I
think at day one we had somethinglike eighteen million views on TOTO. That
(14:24):
was the first video the first daythat that we dropped the videos and the
campaign. You know, it waswhat a week and a half, two
weeks leading up to Super Bowl andwe dropped, you know, one video
after another kind of leading up tothe game. So eighteen million on day
one, over approaching seventy million forthe full campaign. And then because we
(14:48):
had the full integrated team part ofthis process, we were working hard on
earned media as well, and oversix point five billion impressions. Now,
when I think about what we accomplishedversus what I would have spent and delivered
(15:13):
in an in game AD, I'llpick this strategy any day of the week,
now, Yeah smart, very smart, And listen, seventy million with
one AD would be difficult during theSuper Bowl because that's probably close to the
dumbers in the US, right,So never mind six point impressions. Very
smart. We'll be back after thebreak. When we come back, we'll
(15:37):
discuss the importance of good rapport,team building and collaboration in campaign development.
What were the processes between Quaker andMechanism that made the pregraining campaign grow from
just an idea into a successful campaignthat when we come back, welcome back
(16:03):
to partners and possibility. I'm BrettMarshan, Kristin Kropfold from a Quaker and
Ian covillect from Mechanism. We're justdiscussing their approach to break the Super Bowl.
Part of it was to recruit EliManny and to help generate buzz on
TikTok. The pregrading campaign led toover eighteen million TikTok impressions on day one.
But what about collaboration? How cana writer's room give a fresh take
(16:26):
on a classic brand. Well,let's get back to Christian and Ian maybe
tell us a little bit about howthe process worked. How do you how
do you kick this off? Kristen? And then maybe Ian you could talk
about, like, you know,how do you actually operate with the teams
in house at the agency to comeup with an idea like this. We
had a number of ideas that predatedthe brief, right, so December call
(16:53):
it time frame before the Super Bowl. The team on the Quaker side was
thinking what can we do different thisyear and how we how do we crash
the Super Bowl in a really bigand breakthrough a way? And you know
what went off on all of thesekind of you know, thought experiments to
say, oh, you know,what if we did this? What if
(17:15):
we did that? And what wasinteresting about it was that we had this
gem of an idea from the prioryear or we started to talk about pregraining
for the big Game, and Isaid that the team, why not just
take a pre existing idea that wealready started to build some association with some
(17:38):
um and had some success with theprior year, take that idea and make
it bigger. So there's this Ithink sometimes within our industry there's this bias
for new and M reinventing, Mreinventing the wheel. In this case,
I think we did absolutely the rightthing, which was take something that we
(18:00):
had already begun to build and makeit even stronger. Um So I think
that was a really important moment inthe In the process, there's an interesting
point that you just made, Kristen, which is which I think is really
important, is that you build equityover time, right, And so often,
(18:22):
both on the client side and onthe agency side, you want to
move on to the next idea andstart from scratch and scrap whatever you've done.
But there's real value, I think, because when consumers don't have to
work so hard to figure out,you know, who is it and what
are you're talking about, then theycan really absorb, you know, what
the new idea or the new productor or whatever it is, and it's
(18:45):
actually easier to be entertaining instead ofharder entertaining. Yeah, and you know,
we we spend years working on whetherit's a new brand launch or an
innovation or a campaign, working onon those things behind the scenes before consumers
even see them, and so oftenwe're fatigued by ideas the consumers haven't you
(19:07):
experienced yet, So it's it's areal exercise in patience to say, wait,
hold on, um, the marketisn't ready to move. We may
feel like we're ready to move onto something bigger, but the market isn't.
Let's like recognize a gem of anidea that we have in front of
us and really really move it forward. You know, just in thinking about
(19:30):
our partnership and our two teams inthe way they interact, it's less about
presenting, I think, than itis a conversation. M Yes, of
course we're presenting, but we havewe have decks and we you know,
we get ideas together and get ourthoughts together, and you know, it's
it's it's not all on the fly. But but the I think the the
(19:53):
trust that we have has fostered asense of um. It is that give
and take. Is that bit ofa conversation where we're adding to its additive.
We're adding two ideas to make thembetter every single meeting. And I
think that that's what makes it sogreat. It gives it gives the not
(20:15):
just the teams, but the processa sense of confidence. And I think
when you have that confidence together,you set yourself up for great things.
And I think it's that that,to me, is the essence of a
great partnership. The other piece ofit is a really clear strategy and what
(20:36):
exactly are we trying to achieve.And that's where you know, our creative
briefing process really kicks in which youknow, we have an insight, we've
got a business opportunity, and thenwe kind of zero in on what is
that one thing that we want toaccomplish with consumers, and in our case
it was brand is distinction and relevanceright making Quaker stand out is something unique
(21:03):
and different within the broader breakfast occasionand certainly within within the oatmeal category.
And then um, you know,bringing that that point of distinction through with
our connection to um NFL to athleticismimplied efficacy of when you start your day
(21:23):
with oatmeal because by the way,oatmeal is on pretty much every high school
and professional athletes training table because itis such a good, good, good
food and a great way to startthe day. So at any rate,
um, that's our way into tellinga more distinct and relevant story. And
(21:47):
so with a with a tight strategy, then we're able to turn it over
to our cross functional agency partner team, Mechanism being our lead agency Fleishman Hillard,
part of part of the team,our comms agency, our internal and
external media team to really kind ofum surround the project with creativity, thinking,
(22:12):
um and great ideas, a clearprocess, client trust and thoughtful collaboration
as one side of what goes intomaking a campaign great, but what happens
on the creative side. Here areIan's insights into Mechanisms creative process. So
we got into you know, awriter's room, and you know, one
(22:33):
of the things that we really value, I think in the creative process is
being together. You know. It'sthat notion of you know, you put
an idea out there and with peoplein a room, you start to you
know, riff and you know,you know, reciprocate ideas. Um.
You know, somebody will have anidea, somebody else will riff off of
(22:56):
it. It's that that that's sortof like communal group process that really I
think creates the magic. So youknow, now, of course we're we're
in a time where not everybody canbe in the room. So sometimes some
people will be on zoom, otherpeople will be in the office, so
it's always you know, a littlebit of a messy process, but we
(23:19):
get it done. And the pointis it's all about having that connection because
I think some of the best creativecomes when one person inspires another. You
know, when you you get intoit's kind of you know, creativity is
a bit of a momentum, andso as we sort of encourage each other
to get there, you feel thatmomentum and you feel things sort of start
(23:41):
to take shape. And you know, we have so many talented people,
and I think two of the peopleI'll point out or Amy and Sandra Kristen,
who I think you've you've definitely metand they've presented to you. And
I think that that's also a keyto it. It's like, let's create
(24:02):
a safe space, but let's makesure that there's like that we're all lining
up in the same direction and eventuallywe get there. Everybody has UM a
gut response, UM and sharing yourgut response and tying it back to UM.
What the intent of the of thecampaign is, I think is something
that I would encourage everybody to doUM And and then you know, on
(24:26):
the agency side, what I thinkis so wonderful about the rapport that we've
built is that there's a really beautifulgiven take throughout the entire creative process.
Um. I leads a team offolks who, um, you know,
listen and select the best of ourfeedback and make it even better versus you
(24:48):
know, um you know, putputting up a wall and interpreting it in
a different way than than it's intended. So it really has led some really
fantastic work, not just this campaign, but the prior. The prior work
on Quaker Oatmeal some of the favoritethat I've ever delivered in my career.
(25:08):
So that got advice is such goodadvice. I think, you know,
I had somebody early in my careerwho said the same thing to me,
which is, you know, youhave to react as a consumer first and
foremost, you know, and andleave your leave your NBA brain outside the
room for a little while that youcan assess the idea, you know,
fundamentally for its its value as asentertaining and etc. So it's really good
(25:32):
advice. Thank you for your insightson this. Thank you for doing this
kind of work, by the way, because I think it's it's amazing to
see brand like Quaker, which mostpeople would think is more traditional actually stepping
out and taking some risks and doingsome innovative stuff. And thank you for
the partnership Kristen and mean so thanksfor the great work. Let's keep it
(25:53):
going. Looking forward to next yearexcellent, It's going to be a better
one, bigger and better. Thatwas my discussion with Kristen Kropfelle of PepsiCo
and Ian Kovalik of Mechanism. Thankyou for listening to the first episode of
partners and Possibility. I hope yougained valuable insights and maybe a little inspiration
(26:14):
for your next collaboration. If you'dlike to be an iconic brand we're profiling
in any of our podcasts, headon over to pluscompany dot com to learn
more. We'd love to be yourpartner in Possibility.
Eli, thanks for doing that,really really appreciate it. And he was
like, you know, all day, you've been giving me notes about how
to lift up my spoon, howto look in the mirror, and then
the one time I jump and followmy butt, You're like perfect. Done.
(00:25):
In this ever changing world, thesecret to create in an unforgettable marketing
campaign lies in our ability to cutthrough the noise, connect with the right
audience, and stay current. Onthis show, we look behind the curtain
to learn how the most successful marketingcampaigns were created and hear from thought leaders
in the industry. Hi, I'mBrett Marshand, CEO of Class Company.
(00:47):
We're a unique partnership of forward thinkingcreative agencies. By harnessing the power of
collaboration, we make the choices thatdrive brands forward. Is partners and Possibility.
Today on the show, I speakwith Kristin Kopfel and Ian Kvilik about
the viral Quaker Oats pregraining TikTok campaignin the run up to Super Bowl fifty
(01:08):
seven. Kristen is Vice president andCMO of PepsiCo's Quaker brand. She has
decades of experience managing campaigns for severalmajor CpG brands including Kellogg and Hillshire.
Ian is the co founder and chiefcreative officer of Mechanism, an award winning
creative agency that has earned recognition forbuilding ad campaigns for large brands and companies,
(01:30):
including Peloton, HBO, and MillerCorps. Together with their respective teams,
Kristin and Ian developed a pre grainingconcept. So today we talk about
what it takes to get in thegame, boost engagement and make gains or
grains in a viral Super Bowl campaign. It takes the right plays on and
off the field, and the helpof Eli Manning doesn't hurt well. First
(01:57):
of all, good morning. I'mjoined today by Kristen Kropfel and Ian Colville.
So Kristen is the CMO of QuakerNorth America. Welcome Kristen, and
good morning and Ian. As thefounder and chief creative officer at Mechanism,
I thought what we would do isjust start with a little bit of a
description of the actual campaign, becausenot everyone who listens to this will have
(02:20):
seen it. So maybe maybe Kristin, I get you just to tell us
a little bit about, you know, what the campaign is, and then
we'll get into the details of howit came about and how it's working and
some of the decisions you had tomake. But let's start there. Sure,
I have to preface this by QuakerOatmeal is an official sponsor of the
(02:43):
NFL, and we forged this relationshipwith the NFL a couple of years ago
because our brand and our products areall about, you know, unleashing potential
of the day ahead or of anyindividual, whether it's in a you know,
school setting or sports setting. Um. So we're official sponsor of the
(03:07):
NFL and we had aspirations to bringthe brand to the big stage, um
the NFL big stage, the biggame, and um you know, worked
with our cross functional partners such asmechanism, our comms agency or media agency
to figure out how we could hackSuper Bowl. And as the team was
(03:30):
trying to solve for how do wehack Super Bowl? How do we how
do we enter the surround without payingbig dollars for yeah, an in game
ad, this idea of pregraining cameabout and the insight behind that is all
about Super Bowl. The day ofSuper Bowl is the highest grain consumption day
(03:53):
of the year, but in liquidform hops barley mall you get, you
get the idea I know, Yeah, there you go. And so we
thought, well, wait a minute, we are an iconic one hundred and
forty five year old brand that standsfor a whole grain goodness. How do
we UM enter this grain consumption moment? And hence pre graining for the Big
(04:17):
Game was born. So that's kindof the genesis of the campaign, and
the campaign uses you know, Eliman you know, obviously who's who's come
to the forefront with his broadcast withhis brother on ESPN, which is great.
Where and why why? Eli?Was that? Was that a mechanism
decision or was that a Quaker ordid you guys do that? You know,
(04:39):
I think you know the team Iwould say mechanism put forward a number
of potential NFL greats, you know, athletes that were approachable, authentic,
but you know, also had areally great pedigree of success within the NFL.
And earlier in the season, UMwe launched paid advertising behind a campaign
(05:02):
with Eli Manning called od Up.So as we were thinking about the Super
Bowl, it was just a naturalextension of the relationship that we already had
with with Eli in our od upcampaign. Yeah, I think there's something
about Eli that just feels so naturallyQuaker in a way like he's just got
the right spirit, the right attitude, the right sense of humor, and
(05:24):
he's just so he's every you know, he's just so relatable. Hi,
I'm famous football person. Eli married. You know all about pregaming for the
Super Bowl, but what do youknow about pregraining? Pregraining with Quaker oats
is the only way to kick callSuper Bowl fifty seven? Get in here
if it's the tone of the brand. Yeah, and and Mechanism has been
(05:46):
working with us for years. Youguys really understand what Quakers all about.
Approachable, fresh, modern, whichyou know aren't aren't necessarily characteristics that come
to mind when you think about onehundred and forty five year old brand,
but it's but it is the sweetspot for the brand. And so when
we looked at Eli and we thought, oh, yeah, this is this
(06:06):
is a really really great fit umbetween what we want to accomplish and express
as a brand and what he broughtto the table. And I would tell
you so pleasantly surprised by um,how natural he is, uncomfortable he is
behind the camera. We see itin the results. You know, consumers
respond when you're giving them something thatthey can really enjoy and they can relate
(06:31):
to. Here we go, thankyeah, all right, boys, your
body come to coach. I wantoh so good. All right, let's
play catch todown. And when wegot on set, um, you know,
(06:55):
we would hand an idea to Eliand he would just run with it.
He would just dive in and indulge, and of course you would say
the lines that we we wrote him. But then he also was he's a
great improv actor, and you know, it was it was really funny because
we had had a couple of momentswhere, you know, throughout the day
(07:17):
we would give him these little noteson basic things, you know, like
how to lift up the spoon andhow to take a bite. And in
one of the little pieces, heor one of the scenarios, he does
a box jump and he jumps onthis large, oversized canister of Quaker roads
(07:41):
and as he lands on it,the whole thing collapses and he falls to
the ground. No crash pad,no stunt man or anything. Oh that
wasn't good and uh, and hewalks off set. It was like a
one take thing. He walks offset and I go, Eli, thanks
for doing that, really really appreciateit, and he was like, you
know, all day you've been givingme notes about how do you how to
(08:03):
lift up my spoon, how tolook in the air, and then the
one time I jump and follow myby, you're like perfect done. What's
the most important part of building aviral campaign to make it feel natural on
the choosing platform. That means developingthe content specifically to fit the trends of
(08:26):
the platform. So how did Mechanismand Quaker generate the right kind of engagement
while making pregraining a hit? Andwhat the heck made them choose TikTok Well,
here's how TikTok came the platform ofchoice, and you picked TikTok as
a channel, Kristen, So tellme a little bit about that. What
was the thinking behind TikTok Well,so, you know I mentioned before how
(08:50):
old the brand is, right,we all grew up and with it and
are familiar with it. But oneof the things that we were trying to
achieve with the campaign is to meetthe consumer where they were, and the
consumer happened to be on on TikTokum and as a platform, TikTok is
just you know, it's it's oneof those um positive, fun entertaining kind
(09:18):
of social social media spaces that peoplego just to kind of soaking in,
play play around and uh and uh, you know, experience something positive.
And that made you know, areally natural connection to what we were trying
to accomplish with this with this campaign. It's an amazing platform to get people
engaged, you know, because theythey can you know, experience um all
(09:43):
this great content, but then theycan also make their own content and reply
and and share it. And soI think that that's that was the the
other side of this campaign. Thatwas a lot of fun to see that
people actually really got into, youknow, this idea of pregraining and you
know, they show us how theydo it, and which was kind of
the whole It was the whole idea. Yea whole idea. So it was
(10:07):
the perfect platform to do that,that's right. So you if you recorded
your own how you pregrain then andyou tagged it, you could actually win
win tickets to the next Super Bowl. So it was it was a multi
prong strategy where we had ELI andwhat do we do eight nine videos that
were released in succession. We hada consumer promotion where if they tagged it
(10:33):
and showed us how they pregrain opportunityto win tickets to the next Super Bowl,
so super Bowl fifty eight. Andthen we also had a whole group
of influencers that we engaged along theway to supplement the content that we created
with ELI. So it was reallya whole surround program um to entertain,
(10:56):
engage and kind of put a spotlighton oatmeal breakfast is a way to kick
off kick off the day's celebration.And actually TikTok, I mean, because
we do a big report on socialmedia through our we are Social agency every
year. And one of the thingsthat's interesting about TikTok is not just how
(11:16):
engaging it is. I mean,people spend more time on TikTok than any
other social media platform, which isamazing considering its shorts, right you would
think it would be YouTube or somethingelse. But also it has huge engagement
in the morning. I mean,it's one of the things that people,
especially younger gen zs look at firstthing, So that kind of makes sense
to do it with Quaker Roads.The other part of the process that I
(11:43):
would that I would say is importantis to trust the process, Right,
So when you go into an environmentlike TikTok, you have to design or
you have to design for the channel. Yeah, design the creative so that
it is something that people who areon the social media platform actually want to
(12:05):
consume and are interested in because you'recompeting with it with a lot out there.
And so when um, when you'reused to in our shoes, you
know, being analytical and having abrief and tracking results and checking the creative
against kind of your your your listof does it do X, y Z,
(12:26):
and knowing and knowing the script rightand knowing everywhere that is going to
be said right and knowing the script. So going into this you had you
had to trust that the strategy wasright, trust that the agency um knows
the brand, and trust that thedirector is going to get what they need
and then you just let it rip. So, you know, being being
(12:48):
open to the magic of unscripted becauseyou know you've got the right partners,
you have a tight strategy is um. It's easier to do all right when
you have the right partners and youhave the right strategy, and then that's
really when um, when you getyou know, beautiful moments like the ducky
(13:11):
or my favorite, the crochet footballscene. It just or or magic spoon
or lucky spoon. Umu. Thelucky spoon take I think is it's probably
my favorite. My lucky spoon seeckyspoon? Why a lucky spoon? Oh
(13:43):
there it is? Thank you.Someone hit my lucky spoon. But I
found it. Everything was shot ina TikTok native way, you know.
So it was nice because we wereout, We were you know, going
(14:03):
beyond the confines of like a fifteensecond or thirty second spot. So we
had this really great sense of freedom. And can we talk results though,
because I think the approach that weall took together was incredibly effective. I
think at day one we had somethinglike eighteen million views on TOTO. That
(14:24):
was the first video the first daythat that we dropped the videos and the
campaign. You know, it waswhat a week and a half, two
weeks leading up to Super Bowl andwe dropped, you know, one video
after another kind of leading up tothe game. So eighteen million on day
one, over approaching seventy million forthe full campaign. And then because we
(14:48):
had the full integrated team part ofthis process, we were working hard on
earned media as well, and oversix point five billion impressions. Now,
when I think about what we accomplishedversus what I would have spent and delivered
(15:13):
in an in game AD, I'llpick this strategy any day of the week,
now, Yeah smart, very smart, And listen, seventy million with
one AD would be difficult during theSuper Bowl because that's probably close to the
dumbers in the US, right,So never mind six point impressions. Very
smart. We'll be back after thebreak. When we come back, we'll
(15:37):
discuss the importance of good rapport,team building and collaboration in campaign development.
What were the processes between Quaker andMechanism that made the pregraining campaign grow from
just an idea into a successful campaignthat when we come back, welcome back
(16:03):
to partners and possibility. I'm BrettMarshan, Kristin Kropfold from a Quaker and
Ian covillect from Mechanism. We're justdiscussing their approach to break the Super Bowl.
Part of it was to recruit EliManny and to help generate buzz on
TikTok. The pregrading campaign led toover eighteen million TikTok impressions on day one.
But what about collaboration? How cana writer's room give a fresh take
(16:26):
on a classic brand. Well,let's get back to Christian and Ian maybe
tell us a little bit about howthe process worked. How do you how
do you kick this off? Kristen? And then maybe Ian you could talk
about, like, you know,how do you actually operate with the teams
in house at the agency to comeup with an idea like this. We
had a number of ideas that predatedthe brief, right, so December call
(16:53):
it time frame before the Super Bowl. The team on the Quaker side was
thinking what can we do different thisyear and how we how do we crash
the Super Bowl in a really bigand breakthrough a way? And you know
what went off on all of thesekind of you know, thought experiments to
say, oh, you know,what if we did this? What if
(17:15):
we did that? And what wasinteresting about it was that we had this
gem of an idea from the prioryear or we started to talk about pregraining
for the big Game, and Isaid that the team, why not just
take a pre existing idea that wealready started to build some association with some
(17:38):
um and had some success with theprior year, take that idea and make
it bigger. So there's this Ithink sometimes within our industry there's this bias
for new and M reinventing, Mreinventing the wheel. In this case,
I think we did absolutely the rightthing, which was take something that we
(18:00):
had already begun to build and makeit even stronger. Um So I think
that was a really important moment inthe In the process, there's an interesting
point that you just made, Kristen, which is which I think is really
important, is that you build equityover time, right, And so often,
(18:22):
both on the client side and onthe agency side, you want to
move on to the next idea andstart from scratch and scrap whatever you've done.
But there's real value, I think, because when consumers don't have to
work so hard to figure out,you know, who is it and what
are you're talking about, then theycan really absorb, you know, what
the new idea or the new productor or whatever it is, and it's
(18:45):
actually easier to be entertaining instead ofharder entertaining. Yeah, and you know,
we we spend years working on whetherit's a new brand launch or an
innovation or a campaign, working onon those things behind the scenes before consumers
even see them, and so oftenwe're fatigued by ideas the consumers haven't you
(19:07):
experienced yet, So it's it's areal exercise in patience to say, wait,
hold on, um, the marketisn't ready to move. We may
feel like we're ready to move onto something bigger, but the market isn't.
Let's like recognize a gem of anidea that we have in front of
us and really really move it forward. You know, just in thinking about
(19:30):
our partnership and our two teams inthe way they interact, it's less about
presenting, I think, than itis a conversation. M Yes, of
course we're presenting, but we havewe have decks and we you know,
we get ideas together and get ourthoughts together, and you know, it's
it's it's not all on the fly. But but the I think the the
(19:53):
trust that we have has fostered asense of um. It is that give
and take. Is that bit ofa conversation where we're adding to its additive.
We're adding two ideas to make thembetter every single meeting. And I
think that that's what makes it sogreat. It gives it gives the not
(20:15):
just the teams, but the processa sense of confidence. And I think
when you have that confidence together,you set yourself up for great things.
And I think it's that that,to me, is the essence of a
great partnership. The other piece ofit is a really clear strategy and what
(20:36):
exactly are we trying to achieve.And that's where you know, our creative
briefing process really kicks in which youknow, we have an insight, we've
got a business opportunity, and thenwe kind of zero in on what is
that one thing that we want toaccomplish with consumers, and in our case
it was brand is distinction and relevanceright making Quaker stand out is something unique
(21:03):
and different within the broader breakfast occasionand certainly within within the oatmeal category.
And then um, you know,bringing that that point of distinction through with
our connection to um NFL to athleticismimplied efficacy of when you start your day
(21:23):
with oatmeal because by the way,oatmeal is on pretty much every high school
and professional athletes training table because itis such a good, good, good
food and a great way to startthe day. So at any rate,
um, that's our way into tellinga more distinct and relevant story. And
(21:47):
so with a with a tight strategy, then we're able to turn it over
to our cross functional agency partner team, Mechanism being our lead agency Fleishman Hillard,
part of part of the team,our comms agency, our internal and
external media team to really kind ofum surround the project with creativity, thinking,
(22:12):
um and great ideas, a clearprocess, client trust and thoughtful collaboration
as one side of what goes intomaking a campaign great, but what happens
on the creative side. Here areIan's insights into Mechanisms creative process. So
we got into you know, awriter's room, and you know, one
(22:33):
of the things that we really value, I think in the creative process is
being together. You know. It'sthat notion of you know, you put
an idea out there and with peoplein a room, you start to you
know, riff and you know,you know, reciprocate ideas. Um.
You know, somebody will have anidea, somebody else will riff off of
(22:56):
it. It's that that that's sortof like communal group process that really I
think creates the magic. So youknow, now, of course we're we're
in a time where not everybody canbe in the room. So sometimes some
people will be on zoom, otherpeople will be in the office, so
it's always you know, a littlebit of a messy process, but we
(23:19):
get it done. And the pointis it's all about having that connection because
I think some of the best creativecomes when one person inspires another. You
know, when you you get intoit's kind of you know, creativity is
a bit of a momentum, andso as we sort of encourage each other
to get there, you feel thatmomentum and you feel things sort of start
(23:41):
to take shape. And you know, we have so many talented people,
and I think two of the peopleI'll point out or Amy and Sandra Kristen,
who I think you've you've definitely metand they've presented to you. And
I think that that's also a keyto it. It's like, let's create
(24:02):
a safe space, but let's makesure that there's like that we're all lining
up in the same direction and eventuallywe get there. Everybody has UM a
gut response, UM and sharing yourgut response and tying it back to UM.
What the intent of the of thecampaign is, I think is something
that I would encourage everybody to doUM And and then you know, on
(24:26):
the agency side, what I thinkis so wonderful about the rapport that we've
built is that there's a really beautifulgiven take throughout the entire creative process.
Um. I leads a team offolks who, um, you know,
listen and select the best of ourfeedback and make it even better versus you
(24:48):
know, um you know, putputting up a wall and interpreting it in
a different way than than it's intended. So it really has led some really
fantastic work, not just this campaign, but the prior. The prior work
on Quaker Oatmeal some of the favoritethat I've ever delivered in my career.
(25:08):
So that got advice is such goodadvice. I think, you know,
I had somebody early in my careerwho said the same thing to me,
which is, you know, youhave to react as a consumer first and
foremost, you know, and andleave your leave your NBA brain outside the
room for a little while that youcan assess the idea, you know,
fundamentally for its its value as asentertaining and etc. So it's really good
(25:32):
advice. Thank you for your insightson this. Thank you for doing this
kind of work, by the way, because I think it's it's amazing to
see brand like Quaker, which mostpeople would think is more traditional actually stepping
out and taking some risks and doingsome innovative stuff. And thank you for
the partnership Kristen and mean so thanksfor the great work. Let's keep it
(25:53):
going. Looking forward to next yearexcellent, It's going to be a better
one, bigger and better. Thatwas my discussion with Kristen Kropfelle of PepsiCo
and Ian Kovalik of Mechanism. Thankyou for listening to the first episode of
partners and Possibility. I hope yougained valuable insights and maybe a little inspiration
(26:14):
for your next collaboration. If you'dlike to be an iconic brand we're profiling
in any of our podcasts, headon over to pluscompany dot com to learn
more. We'd love to be yourpartner in Possibility.
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