Afterpay, Samsung and Mars adopt social media platforms in their latest marketing campaigns to tap Gen Z communities
Winning over generation Z has seen Afterpay, Samsung and Mars Wrigley populating Tik Tok, Snapchat and Twitch with video campaigns to support new product promotions.
Life happens in five – seconds not minutes – for youth targeted by Mars Wrigley's latest collaboration with Twitch, the platform for gaming plus a side-serve of chat and entertainment. The campaign was launched to support Mars Wrigley 5 Gum and builds on a previous Twitch activation undertaken by the FMCG brand in 2020.
The partnership has launched Team Clutch, or streamers who tackle games like Fortnite, along with a video campaign featuring teens who dare to get a tattoo or pounce for a kiss at a party. Streamers include emerging Twitch creators, soleKEFS and PlayitShady, who join popular creator, Aussie Antics, with more Team Clutch members to come. The streamers are challenged to make concentrated, quick decisions in gameplay while entertaining their audience.
"Going live truly embodies the 'Life happens in 5’ spirit of adventure and this natural brand synergy led us to partner with Twitch,” said Mars Wrigley marketing director, Ben Hill. He hoped to replicate the success of last year's collaboration with Twitch.
According to Twitch head of sales A/NZ, Ricky Chanana, the platform is connected to today's sought-after wireless audience, which he called "the cord-cutters and cord-nevers, with 39 per cent of our viewers not reachable via traditional TV".
The partnership will be supported on Twitch by three months of pre-roll 5 Gum advertisements and three homepage takeovers promoting the stream events, as well social support from the talent and Twitch.
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Samsung, meanwhile, has partnered with Snap Australia to target what it sees as the Snapchat generation with a mobile-first, doco-style video series promoting its Galaxy A Series phones launched in March.
From June, the personal documentaries, called ‘Making it to Made it’, featured the struggles and hard-earned successes of pro-skater, Ethan Copeland, social entrepreneur and Thankyou founder, Daniel Flynn, and Sydney-based pop pair, Cat & Calmell. The series is being published across Snapchat, Samsung's social media platforms and other paid media.
"Partnering with Snap on a local campaign for Galaxy A Series was a natural fit,” said Samsung Electronics Australia head of brand marketing, Hayley Walton. “Not only do we have exclusive Snap technology built into our devices, but Snapchat reaches more than 90 per cent of 13- to 24-year-old Australians."
Afterpay was also firmly pitching to Gen Z after it became the first Australian sponsor of a branded content hub on TikTok during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, held in Sydney, 31 May 31 - 4 June. The payment platform's bespoke hub served up fashion fresh off the runway and enabled Afterpay to connect with TikTok’s fashionistas.
Credit: Afterpay "Fashion and innovation are at the core of Afterpay,” said Afterpay VP of marketing, Andrew Balint. "So we're delighted to bring these two elements together.”
Local TikTok creators across comedy, fashion and music genres were commissioned to create videos featuring behind-the-scenes views, runway action, and vox pops with influencers and event guests.
Creators also modelled fashions from Afterpay's e-tailer merchants so TikTok users could ‘shop the look’ worn by their favourite creators.
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