2015 highly commended: Temptations, Brand Extension - case study

As market leader of edible cat treats in the USA, it is imperative that Mars’ Temptations relentlessly grow the category (no mean feat we’ll think you’ll agree).

In the U.S market half of cat owning households buy treats for their furry friends. The other half cannot see the benefit in treating and don’t intuitively seek to treat their cat the way dog owners do. To overcome this barrier, Temptations launched a brand extension for an untapped ‘playtime’ segment in the market called Tumblers: A ball shaped treat that ignites fun and playfulness when treating your cat.

We had one chance, in the six-month window of it being retailed, to launch this extension, attract new users and grow the category.

To really disrupt the market, fully resonate with cat owners and land the product’s intrinsic, Temptations set about:

• Creating a online content-led, integrated strategy to really leverage the playful nature of the product (not just relying on heavy-weight broadcast comms to raise awareness).

• Developing an idea that banished any cat clichés or indeed cat owner clichés.

• Rolling out a social by design call to action that rallied cat owners and spoke to them in a way that no other brand in the cat care and treats, nor cat food category, ever has.

As a traditional FMCG company Mars took a leap of faith by breaking the formula of 100% investment in ATL comms, which fully paid off.

Tumblers performance was not only successful but record breaking: It added 1.8ppts of exclusive household penetration YOY (the highest level ever achieved by a Mars line extension), with 3.1% of total sales coming from users new to the category. It also produced the highest ROI of any online film, PR or TV campaign ever ran by the brand.