SWEETARTS
The candy brand added the Reels placement to its usual video ad placements on Facebook and saw an 8.5-point lift in ad recall when compared to a campaign using the usual placements alone.
Since 1963, SweeTARTS’ unique combination of sweet and tart flavors has delivered an iconic candy experience. Available in an array of colorful creations, the SweeTARTS product portfolio includes SweeTARTS Ropes, SweeTARTS Mini Chewy, new SweeTARTS Gummy Fruity Splitz and several seasonal favorites in addition to SweeTARTS Original. SweeTARTS is owned by the Ferrara Candy Company.
lift in ad recall using usual placements plus Reels ad placements
lift in attribute rating1 using usual placements plus Reels ad placements
SweeTARTS wanted to attract and connect with Gen Z audiences, boosting their familiarity with the brand’s product lines beyond Original SweeTARTS.
THE SOLUTION
Adding a new placement
SweeTARTS enjoys experimenting with new approaches to its digital ad campaigns. So for this new campaign aimed at connecting with Gen Z audiences in an engaging and relevant way, the team tested a new strategy—running video ads in the full-screen Reels placement.
SweeTARTS’s media agency, Mindshare, helped plan and implement the media campaign, and its creative agency, D1A, developed the Reels-optimized creative assets. Day One Agency followed best practices for the Reels placement by ensuring that the assets were: 1) entertaining and inspired an emotional response with storytelling; 2) easy to understand and rewarding to watch; and 3) relatable for the intended audience.
To do this, SweeTARTS used low-fidelity, creator-generated style content to align with what Gen Z consumers expect to see in Reels. This includes popular creator trends like talking directly to the camera as if on Facetime with a friend, and comparing product preference to personality types.
To build the ad creative, the team followed mobile-first best practices by using a strong hook to catch attention, showing recognizable brand elements clearly throughout, ensuring that the videos are framed appropriately with a 9:16 ratio for the Reels environment and are built for sound-on viewing.
SweeTARTS showed the ads to US adults aged 18–34, including those with an interest in candy and candy brands. The team then ran a Meta brand lift study that compared the performance of a campaign running video ads across SweeTARTS’s usual Instagram and Facebook placements in one cell, versus a campaign using those usual placements plus Reels in the second cell. All other campaign elements were identical.
SweeTARTS determined the results of its October 3–November 28, 2022 campaign using a Meta brand lift study, which revealed:
- 8.5-point lift in ad recall using usual placements plus Reels ad placements
- 6.6-point lift in attribute rating using usual placements plus Reels ad placements (“How would you rate SweeTARTS in terms of having two delicious flavors in one?”)