A Tour Around Lay’s Campaigns: Insights into The Brand’s Interactive Content Efforts
Let’s rewind to my blog post in March. Potatoes, a starchy vegetable, a source of electricity, and now, inspiration for a “tour”?
Starting early 2022, potato chip brand Lay’s has been shining a light on local sourcing. In January of that year, for example, in partnership with the NFL, Lay’s launched its “Golden Grounds” campaign, featuring a limited-edition line of chips, representing the legacy of 29 beloved teams, that was made from potatoes grown in soil directly pulled from NFL stadiums nationwide. For that campaign, the brand highlighted one of its farms in Texas as they kept the soil separate, allowing for the chips featuring each team’s logo to be made solely from potatoes grown in soil taken from that specific stadium.
Now, the brand is doubling down on its commitment to support farmers across America with its new “Golden Grows Here” campaign. Below features their new “Farms Across America” TV spot:
As part of this campaign, Lay’s is utilizing interactive content, such as its “Lay’s Tater Tour” timeline and “Lay’s of the Land” maps, to provide additional information on its production process so as to build a stronger and more cohesive story.
Before diving deeper into my take on Lay’s and its innovative marketing efforts, let’s do formal definitions.
- Interactive Content Marketing: The practice of using content that requires user action. It can include efforts such as videos with call-to-actions, web pages with interactive elements, or simple online games.
- Interactive Timelines: Visual timelines that users can interact with to gain more information. It can include interactive aspects such as embedded videos, clickable elements, and animated icons that draw attention to important sections.
- Interactive Maps: A form of data visualization that uses interactive features, such as clickable links, to keep users engaged.
The Power of Interactive Content…
- Attracts and Engages
By combining content and experience, interactive content offers a marriage between education and entertainment, keeping audiences’ attention for longer periods of time. While static platforms, such as infographics or ebooks, are valuable for education purposes, they lack a fun element that is required to better attract and engage consumers. - Improves SEO
By enhancing user engagement and improving UX, interactive content makes it more likely for audiences to share and talk about their experience with the brand. With the dynamic nature of the content encouraging audiences to click around and explore, it ultimately leads to better SEO results. - Differentiates
By creating memorable experiences that reinforce a brand’s personality, interactive content can help it stand out from competitors. In today’s crowded environment, such reinforcement and audience connection could be exactly what brands need to cut through the noise.
The Lay’s Interactive Content Portfolio…
“Golden Grows Here” is the latest installment of Lay’s interactive content portfolio. Over the years, the brand has been known to meticulously plan for inbound marketing strategies that attract consumer attention. Below outlines some of their efforts:
Launched in 2012, Lay’s started its “Do Us a Flavor” campaign whereby the brand requested fans nationwide to pitch their best Lay’s flavor idea and the inspiration behind it. To keep things exciting, instead of the brand having the final say as to who the winner would be, a judging panel of chefs, foodies, and flavor experts decided on three finalists whose flavors will be fully developed by Frito-Lay’s culinary experts and brought to market. Interactive content, in the form of voting, was then put in place to allow consumers to decide on who they thought should be the final winner. Since then, upon receiving millions of new flavor ideas, the campaign has been run numerous times in various countries worldwide.
Similarly, in 2016, Lay’s launched its “Flavor Swap” campaign whereby the brand invited consumers to visit a custom website to vote for their favorite flavor(s) amongst four available match-ups. The results of the voting helped Lay’s figure out which flavors to keep and which to abandon, ultimately increasing sales and brand reach.
Another example was in 2017. With the launch of its new snack, Poppables, Lay’s created an interactive, game-filled website that reminded consumers to enjoy lighthearted and fun moments. As the new multi-dimensional snack was designed to be “fun to eat,” such a game succeeded in creating more buzz.
The Analysis…
In my humble opinion, Lay’s is utilizing interactive content well by tailoring each campaign to its specific purpose. From voting elements that showcase a dedication to customer feedback, to games that create excitement, to timelines and map displays that highlight important information, Lay’s has undoubtedly set itself as a leader in this trend.
What truly intrigued me with the brand’s latest installment, “Golden Grows Here,” was the responsive design (seamless UX on both desktop and mobile), dynamic elements (the confetti-like chip drop during the “Tater Tour”), and the range of emotions I felt while interacting (a mix of curiosity, inspiration, and entertainment).
While supporting local businesses is undoubtedly an important topic, at times, reading information on it may get static, and hence boring. Via offering a new, more engaging way to consume such information, I believe that the brand’s interactive timeline and map will aid Lay’s in furthering its spotlight on local sourcing.
The Future of Interactive Content…
Based on current trends, it seems likely that the wave of interactive content will be here to stay.
Firstly, now, more than ever, consumers want to be heard. In fact, a recent Ruder Finn survey shows that 57% of consumers are actively engaging with brands either through online commenting or direct outreach. To get ahead of this, brands can take the first step by utilizing interactive content, such as quizzes or polls, to demonstrate their dedication to fostering a connection with their audience.
In addition, in today’s fast-paced world, the human attention span has dropped to just 8 seconds, shrinking more and more as years go by. With this, it’s crucial that brands develop engaging content to keep audiences interested. Interactive content, such as icons or clickable designs, may be the savior to capturing and keeping attention. After all, such content is proven to be twice as likely to engage visitors as compared to static ones.
Lastly, with 72% of customers admitting that they would only engage with brands that offer personalized messaging, for example, the demand for customized experiences is on the rise. As a potentially powerful tool for data collection, interactive content may offer brands the opportunity to obtain more insights into consumer preferences and behaviors without consumers feeling imposed on.
The Conclusion…
By offering both brands and consumers with various advantages, I believe that the trend of interactive content will be one that will last. For firms who need some inspiration as to how to utilize this form of marketing well, I’d recommend taking a “tater tour” of Lay’s website.
Do you agree? Let me know your thoughts on this trend.
