Milk consumption declines heavily with teens aged 13 to 17. Milk West and DDB Canada needed to convince teens to drink an extra half-glass of milk per month in order to positively impact milk's declining consumption rate. And at the same time, improve youth's perception of milk and boost what they consider a dull personality.
Advertising to teenagers can be tricky. They spend more time consuming content online than any other media, and they hate being forced to watch ads. This meant Milk West's approach needed to be less disruptive than traditional marketing.
The team researched the types of websites, content and humour that appeals to teens. Instead of forcing them to watch an ad about milk, the organization created a branded content series that they would want to watch while relaxing after school – while also reminding them how milk pairs well with their favourite snacks.
"Snack Time" features a carton of milk named Carlton and a cast of characters who all happen to be snacks that taste great with milk. Every two weeks, starting in March 2015, Milk West introduced a new "Snack Time" episode on YouTube, as well as Tumblr content like animated GIFs and static cartoons.
The series is easily digestible and entertaining in episodic short films, still images, comic strips and animated GIFs featuring milk and the snacks that pair well with it.
The series was unbranded to engage with teens on their terms. DDB helped promote the Milk West series through promoted YouTube videos and YouTube skippable pre-roll.
The team also ran special episodes in theatres during the three biggest teen films of the year: Avengers, Jurassic World and Star Wars. For Avengers and Jurassic World, they created 20,000 Carlton-shaped USBs with additional content, giving them to teen movie-goers to promote the YouTube channel. Milk West also partnered with Buzzfeed for a series of custom stories that linked Avengers and Jurassic World with the cinema-themed content.
The "Snack Time" audience reported that they consume 13 servings of milk per week – versus 10.6 servings per week for teens not watching the series. Milk has gained 6.5% across brand health metrics (emotions, occasions, positioning, personality). The percentage of teens in Western Canada who agree "milk is a fun drink" increased 9%, and 28.2% of the Snack Time audience say they plan to drink more milk in the future compared to those that have not seen "Snack Time" at only 18.3%.
By the end of March 2016, Milk West had released 53 videos, 35 Tumblr posts, built an online community that includes over 25,000 YouTube subscribers and 8,000 Tumblr followers. It's also tracked more than 11 million episode views and over 7.4 million Tumblr impressions. On average, those who watched a Promoted Channel video viewed five additional "Snack Time" episodes - up from 1.5 additional episodes a year ago.
