Gen-Z Media Opps: Mars Wrigley increasing Skittles digital spend amid sustainable packaging roll-out (Score 57)

Mars Wrigley (MW) recently announced that it will soon roll out biodegradable wrapping for its Skittles candy thanks to a two-year partnership with Danimer Scientific, a sustainable goods manufacturer. The brand experienced a surge in sales due to COVID-related grocery store impulse buys, and this will give consumers yet another reason to grab a bag of Skittles. This initiative is one of MW's first steps toward the pursuit of its promise of 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025.

So far this year, iSpot reports Skittles has spent approximately $2.6m on national TV commercials, less than half of the approximately $6.5m it had spent by this point last year. The brand ended up spending approximately $19m on this channel in 2020, down % from the approximately $34.7m it spent in 2019. This year's Skittles commercials have targeted millennials (male skew) viewing programs such as NFL Football, Family Guy, The King of Queens, WWE Monday Night RAW and The Big Bang Theory.

According to Pathmatics, the brand has allocated roughly $3.3m toward digital ads YTD, triple the roughly $1.1m it allocated within the same 2020 timeframe. Skittles's estimated full-year 2020 spend of $4.7m only reached around a third of that of $15.9m in 2019. So far this year, it has earned ~481.6m digital impressions via Instagram (86%), mobile display (8%), Twitter (4%) and desktop video (2%) ads.

As you can see, digital spend dropped last year but has already picked back up in 2021; with this new sustainability initiative, I expect spend to continue rising. Higher digital spend has partially been made possible by lower TV spend. This spend shift, along with Skittles's heavy reliance on Instagram advertising, shows that the brand is particularly targeting Gen-Z. The biodegradable packaging roll-out will especially appeal to this audience since this generation is especially likely to invest in eco-friendly brands. I've also seen OTT advertisements for Skittles, specifically via Hulu. Per Kantar data, the brand also invests in print (magazines) and local broadcast. Skittles holds planning conversations in Q2 and buying conversations in Q1.

Agency & martech readers - We have heard of no roster shifts since MW appointed CMO Sarah Long last summer, so reach out for potential work if you haven't yet. DDB Chi and Energy BBDO are currently the company's creative AORs; it also works with media buying and planning AOR MediaCom NY and PR AOR ICF Next MN.