Grassroots, personal engagement is an essential component of the Chobani brand, and when we were asked to use this philosophy to launch Chobani Champions—the first Greek yogurt for kids—we undertook one of the most ambitious projects in our 11-year history.
Chobani Champions is about much more than just healthy, natural yogurt—it’s about fostering sustainable relationships between parents, kids, and the world around them. With that in mind, it was crucial for us to add elements that added real value to the consumer experience, rather than just more messaging. Our thinking started in a place of pure value for children – much like ‘bottom of the cereal box’ prizes – but grew with the insight that parents are constantly looking for simple, fun ways to help their children grow into successful adults. We created a fully integrated, multi-channel brand platform built around the four “pillars” of being a Chobani Champion: Active, Caring, Courageous and Imaginative.
We began with some simple facts about consumer behavior and digital ‘co-viewing’ with parents and children: parents are spending more and more time using smartphones together with their young children. A third of parents play digital games with their children every day, and 80 per cent describe this as “quality time.” In order to take advantage of contemporary technology and be relevant to the modern consumer, we took a digital approach to the entire project, affecting analog channels like product packaging and sampling with a more interactive experience.
