Sour Patch Kids translates corporate lingo as Gen Z enters the workforce
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Dive Brief:
Sour Patch Kids, the sour-sweet candy marketed by Mondelez International, designed a translator that helps Gen Zers new to the workforce better understand corporate lingo, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
Users can visit SourTranslator.com on mobile or desktop and download an app where they can input job jargon and receive a simplified message, along with an offer for Sour Patch Kids that can be redeemed at Albertsons and Safeway stores.
The brand is running retail media buys on Albertsons properties and collaborating with influencers on social media. Animated digital out-of-home placements are also part of the campaign aimed at helping fresh-faced employees navigate their 9 to 5.
Dive Insight:
Starting a new job can be intimidating, especially for people who’ve never held a full-time role before. Gen Zers, many of whom experienced college during the pandemic, are also starting their careers at a disruptive time as employers weigh in-person versus remote and hybrid work, potentially contributing to communication breakdowns.
Sour Patch Kids, known for advertising where its mischievous gummies wreak havoc, takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to helping Gen Z jump into the workforce with its Sour Translator. The application converts corporate chatter, including veiled passive-aggressive messages, into plain terms. “Looking forward to hearing from you” becomes “Talk to me!” when run through the technology.
WPP’s VML agency is behind the campaign marketing to Gen Z. Grocery giant Albertsons and its Safeway subsidiary are also supporting the Sour Translator with retail media advertising and in-store redemptions that layer on a commerce component. Packaged foods companies like Mondelez have invested more into retail media as they seek to tie their marketing closer to transactions.
Sour Patch Kids has focused on the digital and social channels that factor heavily into the habits of its target young audience. The brand previously doled out “prank funds” around April Fools’ Day via TikTok, Gen Z’s app of choice, and ran flavor competitions on Twitch, Amazon’s livestreaming platform. In June, it debuted a dedicated tycoon-themed world on the gaming platform Roblox.
Sour Translator takes a page from recent campaigns from sister Mondelez brands as well. Oreo, also working with VML, previously developed a series of activations that turned things sharing a similar look and black-and-white color scheme to a stack of its cookies, such as “hamburger” menu icons, referees and barcodes, into shoppable moments.
Like many CPGs, Mondelez is contending with shoppers who have become more price-sensitive. Net revenue for the business that also owns Ritz and Chips Ahoy declined 1.9% in Q2 while underlying volumes were down 2.2%.