For a decade, the brand’s "Unexplainably Juicy" creative platform tapped into the playfulness and imagination of STARBURST®, explaining the mythology of how the chewy candy packs in so much juiciness. However, the brand and category landscape had evolved quite a bit since the inception of this idea.
As 2024 approached, STARBURST® needed a step change in communications to compete in the new world candy order and better resonate with Gen Z. Something that could revitalize the brand and its current portfolio and meet the innovation expectations of the category.
To set the brand on a growth trajectory for the future, we needed to drive the business among this highly desirable audience that the entire fruity category was gunning for.
Gen Z is the key to winning or losing in the fruity candy category
Our research revealed that Gen Z’s most prized possession was their creativity. They are empowered by experiences that feel personal, customized, and allow them to use their imagination to create and express their unique sense of individuality.
This was even more important for a generation facing a happiness deficit. Roughly 50% don’t feel what they do each day is motivating or interesting so they seek joy in discovering niche and novel ways to connect to their identity and passions.
It’s no wonder the excitement of new (and often obscure) offerings made the fruity candy category irresistible to Gen Z. We just needed to find a way for STARBURST® to compete for this generation’s share of mind and mouth, creating more joyful, novel experiences that could feel like their own.
“Different Every Time” wasn't just a campaign line, it was a promise. STARBURST® aimed to break people out of their algorithmic bubbles by constantly exposing them to new and unexpected variety, using media and content to create something different in every experience someone had with the brand.
To do this, we had three key platform elements:
In the end, STARBURST® created an innovative way to compete in a category full of new products that vie for Gen Z’s attention. We answered this group’s need for discovery and something new and told a brand story that garnered interest and attention and most importantly, began to lift the business and critical product lines. But perhaps the most impressive bit is that we grew in a category full of innovation, without any new product news of our own – and that’s different.
Our different experience paid off. While there were a lot of assets, the bulk of them exceeded benchmarks, including our custom partnerships. People often don’t turn to ads for discovery, but in this case, they did.
