Dive Brief:
- Just Born Quality Confections, maker of Peeps marshmallow chicks, has created its first digital marketing campaign, which is targeting millennial moms.
- This target market isn't purchasing Peeps as much as older demographics, Noelle Porcoro, the confectioner's senior brand manager, told Fortune.
- Porcoro said that "sales have been steady and in line with the category growth over the past five years," so this campaign is instead a way to start raising awareness of the product ahead of the upcoming Easter season.
Dive Insight:
Around the Easter season, consumers purchase about three-quarters of the 2 million Peeps manufactured annually, according to Bloomberg. Getting ahead of the rush with a modernized campaign could be key for Just Born to encourage break-out sales.
Peeps pushed beyond the popular Easter season to support year-round sales by introducing a version of the product that would be available all year. That included taking advantage of the holiday season with new flavors like Hot Cocoa & Cream, which capitalized on last year's hot cocoa flavor trend, Sugar Cookie, and Candy Cane Dipped in Chocolate.
More major manufacturers are shifting their focus to digital campaigns. Mondelez announced last year that it planned to increase digital marketing in North America to 45% of ad spending, up from 32% in 2014. ConAgra and MillerCoors recently launched web-based campaigns, Coca-Cola has turned to Snapchat, and Nestle's Drumstick and Doritos' Collisions both used Periscope to reach tech-savvy consumers.