Tic Tac embraces ‘Go Little’ philosophy with small, personalized marketing stunts
Last year, Tic Tac began working with the Martin Agency to figure out a new brand strategy and message that would help the iconic mint brand resonate with millennials.
Tic Tac
The result is a campaign called ‘Go Little’ that Tic Tac unveiled last fall in an effort to position the brand as one that finds joy in the little things in life — proving that bigger isn’t always better. As part of the ongoing campaign effort, which includes a number of quirky 15-second TV spots, the brand is also making a push on social to engage with its fans in small but meaningful ways.
Earlier this week, the brand hosted a two-hour event on Facebook called ‘Little Fortunes’ where it asked fans to post photos of some Tic Tacs in the palms of their hands. A ‘Fortune Teller’ then looked at each palm to determine what the positioning and color of the Tic Tacs said about that person’s future along with a small illustration.
'Little Fortunes'
For example, a person who posted a photo of six greens Tic Tacs in their palm received a drawing of a turtle along with the fortune: “You will find a turtle near your home. Name it Harold, but don’t touch it. Know that it, too, has given you a name.”
John Szalay, associate creative director at the Martin Agency, said that the idea for ‘Little Fortunes’ stemmed from the fact that most people shake Tic Tacs into their hands before eating them anyway, so the agency wanted to have a little bit of fun with that.
“Obviously that led to fortune telling,” he said. “It lined up with the brand’s personality and made you look at what you do with Tic Tac mints in a new way.”
To ensure that the stunt was in line with the brand’s ‘Go Little’ ethos, Szalay said the fortunes themselves had to be fun and lighthearted. So instead of saying things like, “you’ll find true love in six months,” the brand responded with lighthearted and quirky fortunes, such as “you will bump into your childhood imaginary friend soon.”
Ahead of the event, Tic Tac enlisted the help of social influencers including Jonathan Lo to spread the word. Szalay said social influencers are a crucial part of events like these since they act as “supplementary brand ambassadors that have cultivated a unique relationship and level of trust with our shared audience.”
While the event didn’t exactly make a splash online – only a few dozen people actually posted photos of their palms to the brand’s Little Fortune’s page – stunts like this allow the brand to embrace its ‘Go Little’ philosophy by interacting with its fans in a small-scale yet personal way.
“Our brand vision is to spark refreshing moments with our audience,” said Elizabeth Cleveland, vice president and planning director at the Martin Agency. “And part of that is finding fun, little ways to interact with them.”