Breakfast brand Weetabix has announced the return of its Weetabuddies campaign for a second year, designed to encourage children to get creative with their breakfast.
Launched this week, the multi-channel campaign will feature a new year-long partnership with Cartoon Network. It will encourage children to add real fruit to their breakfast by using a Weetabix wholegrain biscuit as the basis for a Weetabuddy character. It will also boost breakfast consumption among 4–10 year olds, who on average eat only half of their recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables.
In addition to Cartoon Network’s partnership, the brand will spend over £1.7m in January to promote the Weetabuddies campaign across TV, social, online and in store – as well as engaging parent bloggers to get more families to choose Weetabix.
The promotional drive follows last year’s campaign, which delivered an increase in volume sales of 14% and generated 1.5m views on YouTube – the brand’s largest viral success to date.
New for 2016, consumers will have the chance to win one of five special edition Weetabuddies soft toys as part of an offer featured on pack from the beginning of January. To take part, consumers will be encouraged to share their own Weetabuddies creations on the Weetabuddies website and social media channels.
Throughout 2016, Cartoon Network and Weetabix will work together to get kids excited about eating a good breakfast. The partnership includes sponsorship of the peak breakfast time slot on Cartoon Network for all of January, April, September and November. There will also be an on-air channel sponsorship of Cartoon Network’s sister channel, Boomerang, in April and September. Each sponsorship ident will centre on different Weetabuddy personalities in a cereal bowl telling each other food-based jokes, the brand said.
Cartoon Network has also transformed some of its most iconic characters into Weetabuddies for the campaign and built a bespoke Weetabix Weetabuddies microsite, where children will be encouraged to submit their creations and play an exclusive mini-game.
Weetabix head of brand Richard Lawrence said: “When we launched the Weetabuddies campaign last year, our aim was to build the next generation of cereal eaters by getting them excited with a fun and creative way of eating a healthy and nutritious breakfast and upping their intake of fruit. It was our most successful campaign to date, and given the level of interaction with consumers, we wanted to bring it back with an added value reward for consumers. It’s hugely exciting to be partnering with Cartoon Network, and means we’ll be on TV for 52 weeks of the year, encouraging families to get creative and enjoy a fun and nutritious breakfast.”
Zara Peters, sponsorship and promotions director for Cartoon Network owner Turner Broadcasting, added: “We’re thrilled to be working with the iconic breakfast brand Weetabix to help launch the Weetabuddies 2016 campaign. Cartoon Network will feature sponsored Weetabuddies content across our on-air and digital platforms to help encourage kids to get creative and excited about Weetabix’s healthy breakfast cereal. Cartoon Network values kids creativity and we can’t wait to see their Weetabuddy creations! We believe this campaign will remind kids that mornings can be fun.”
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