The Goal

After a very successful campaign in 2016, Doritos brand decided to bring back “Doritos Ketchup Roses” for the second year. For year two of the “Doritos Ketchup Roses” campaign, agency Citizen Relations was tasked with getting Doritos fans and everyone else excited about its return, generating further buzz and awareness and maintaining trial of the flavour.

The objective for the grand return of Doritos Ketchup chips in 2017 was to get the tangy tortilla chips into the hands of many and spark online buzz around the uniquely Canadian, limited-time only flavour that extended outside the circle of ketchup super fans.

The Target: 16-25-year-old male millennial hyperlifer who craves bold experiences.

Insights and Strategy

In 2016, Doritos came up with the perfect Valentine's Day gift for guys, “Doritos Ketchup Roses.” But it was quickly discovered that the love extended beyond men. So for year two, Doritos and Citizen wanted to remind Canadians that “Doritos Ketchup Roses” are the perfect gift for guys and girls on Valentine's Day. This year, Doritos decided to give Doritos Ketchup lovers in Canada the opportunity to boldly express their love with the gift guys have always wanted: 12 long-stem roses, made from Doritos Ketchup chips. With more social platforms than ever for consumers to engage with, the campaign required the perfect mix of romance, pop-culture and consumer resonance to break through Valentine's Day clutter and capture the target’s attention. To achieve this, Citizen targeted influencers and traditional media across the key millennial passion points of lifestyle, fashion, sports, pop culture, gaming and music to accomplish one goal – get the country talking about Doritos Ketchup chips and the greatest Valentine’s Day gift ever made.

The Plan

To generate buzz and conversation around the return of Doritos Ketchup flavoured chips among the millennial ‘hyperlifer’ target in Canada and differentiate from year one, Citizen conducted a two-phased approach, the first to launch with a bang and the second designed to sustain the conversation throughout the limited time offering.

The first phase began with securing traditional media coverage to generate buzz. To do this, Citizen leveraged the timely hook of Valentine’s Day and gift guides for national media outreach. To launch, a press release was issued that coincided with the media drops to key targets in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Additionally, more than 100 influencers in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal received “Doritos Ketchup Roses” drops. Paid partnerships with seven influencers nationally also supported the launch of the bouquets, incorporating a CTA for followers to visit the website to order. Finally, the agency selected an additional 15 influencers for the opportunity to gift “Doritos Ketchup Roses” as Valentine’s Day gifts

The second phase was to sustain the conversation past Valentine’s Day. To further generate excitement and increase awareness of the unique opportunity that a bouquet of “Doritos Ketchup Roses” could offer a couple in love, Citizen facilitated and coordinated an unconventional in-arena proposal – from a girlfriend to boyfriend – during the ‘puck shuffle’ at a Vancouver Canucks game. The agency leveraged the Vancouver Canucks’ in-game footage for media outreach nationally post-proposal and developing social media content featured on both Vancouver Canucks and Doritos-owned channels. To continue the conversation further, the team partnered with influencers across the country to help spread the word about how to make your own “Doritos Ketchup Roses.” Citizen coordinated videos with influencers and partnered with DIY gurus, “The Sorry Girls,” to showcase the process to their followers.

The Results

Overall, the campaign was a major success garnering more than 270 pieces of coverage and 184,857,950 total impressions, exceeding the goals by 1026%. The proposal went viral garnering coverage across Canada and even resonated with top tier media outlets south of the border in the U.S. Coverage came from outlets including Mashable, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Refinery29, Daily Hive, Bustle, CTV News and more covering the unique display of love. During the campaign, baseline sales of Doritos resulted in a sales life of +5%, representing an increase of more than $2 million of absolute dollar growth. The team can say it got everyone talking about one of the best Valentine’s Day gifts ever, “Doritos Ketchup Roses,” and wishing they all had bouquets for their loved ones.

Partner Involvement

-BBDO
-OMD