CASE STUDY: OREO BY NABISCO
Taking a Bite Out of the Blackout

Introduction

A sudden power outage took place during the second half of the 2013 Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. As a result of this power failure, it stopped game play for the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers for about 34 minutes in the third quarter. Who was prepared for this outage? The folks at Nabisco’s Oreo Company were.

Opportunity

Let’s call it The Oreo Effect – a chain reaction that took place in the social sphere that evening. Oreo’s ad agency, 360i, got together beforehand because they wanted to be prepared in case something was to take place during the wildly entertaining game. According to Buzzfeed, agency president Sarah Hofstetter told them, “When the blackout happened, the team looked at it as an opportunity. Because the brand team was there, it was easy to get approvals and get it up in minutes.”

Solution

Oreo took advantage of the “now.”  They prepared themselves for that unexpected moment, which not many brands took the time to do so as well. They managed to concoct a positive “Double Stuf” to their branding during a not so positive moment.

As a result of good PR, several companies wanted a piece of the cookie. For instance – it was only days after Oreo’s sweet Super Bowl Ad via Twitter when Krispy Kreme announced ‘A Dynamic Duo’: Cookies and KREME Doughnuts made with OREO at Participating Locations.

Oreo has also become the go-to brand and “real time” marketer for almost any occasion; most recently, the company sent out several tweets during The Oscars on Sunday evening. But the social media team didn’t just send tweets about the films that were nominated that night – they also mentioned other shows that aired during the duration of the awards ceremony. After all, not everyone watches The Academy Awards.

We look forward to seeing what Nabisco has in store for us in the near future – literally, since that’s the way the Oreo cookie seems to crumble.