Case Study for Agency
03-1014959-049

Altoids - A Curiously Strong Success Story
Here's a case where fresh, breakthrough creative, along with an
innovative media plan helped a sleepy brand with a small, cult
following become a national player - while still keeping its "special"
feel. This case is shows how we can win over loyalty, even advocacy,
with the right strategic and creative approach no matter what size the
budget is.

Problem: Oh-so-cool-mints With an Oh-so-small Following
In late 1994, the Altoids brand team faced an enormous challenge.
Altoids was a nationally unknown brand with extremely limited
distribution and exposure. Our task was to put Altoids, a historically
local product, in the same national competitive set as giants in the
mint category (e.g. Tic Tac, Certs and Breath Savers). With only a 4%
share nationally and limited resources, the brand faced significant
disadvantages: low awareness and historical ad support 3 to 7 times
below other brands; pricing 3 times above other mints; limited front of
store presence and one flavor vs. a competitive average of six.

Insight: It's Not Just a Mint, It's a Badge
While Altoids wasn't well known nationally, it enjoyed a 26% market
share in Seattle and had a strong cult-like following among young,
socially and physically active young adults - males in particular. The
task of the advertising was to try and create the same cult-like
following nationally while still keeping the feel of a hip,
"underground" brand. Some of the key appeal of the product came from
the old-fashioned tin packaging, the intense peppermint flavor and a
distinctive independent, almost quirky personality.

Solution: The One-of-a-kind, Curiously Strong Mint
The campaign objective was to quickly generate top-of-mind awareness
and usage by leveraging the key flavor equities and unique packaging.
The trick was to develop communication that resonated with the target -
speaking their language rather than reflecting their lifestyle in a
contrived way.

Executional Elements: Taking It to the Streets
The "strong flavor" profile and quirky image of the tin packaging was
used to set this mint apart from all others. While previous advertising
campaigns had only used radio, we wanted to tap into the visual nature
of the tin and link Altoids' strength of flavor to its unique
packaging.

With a media budget 20% below other brands' sustaining levels, the
media plan needed to create maximum impact at minimal cost. Given the
extremely visual nature of the tin packaging, out-of-home was selected
as the primary vehicle. The out-of-home sites were precisely selected
for their proximity to urban coffee bars, jazz clubs and transit sites
in younger, more upscale neighborhoods. Additionally, "alternative"
newspapers were used to further surround the target audience. The
"Curiously Strong" advertising idea was also extended to other
non-traditional communication forms like postcards at restaurants,
T-shirts at local events and a "Curiously Strong" website
(www.altoids.com).

Campaign Results: Met 3-year Goals in 6 Months
Our "Curiously Strong" campaign for Altoids has far exceeded the
aggressive volume and advertising tracking goals established for it.
The advertising has been the driving force, establishing strong, word
of mouth advocacy amongst a loyal, young adult following. Altoids
accomplished the brand's three-year goals in just 6 months. Altoids is
now the number 1 "power mint" - spawning a number of competitive new
offerings in metal tins (when retailers were wary of stocking strong
mints in metal tins just 3 years ago).