Our challenge with our 2019 [brand] phone launch was to drive positive press and social conversation by activating advocates (Superfans, Influencers, Select Press). For many consumers, getting a new phone isn’t as exciting as it used to be. So, we decided to bring back that ‘new toy feeling’ with our new phone launch. To accompany the integrated launch campaign we surprised the first 2000 consumers to pre-order the phone from our online store and our roster of 100+ long-term influencers with their devices on launch day in special edition ‘cereal box’ packaging. The seeding was supported by a PR strategy to further extend reach, including a partnership with Deliveroo and influencer partnership with YouTuber, Oli White. The total budget behind this activation was £130,000.

We wanted to make the launch of our latest phone a truly memorable experience for key media, influencers, and most importantly, our phones biggest superfan consumers. So we decided to bring back that ‘new toy feeling’ to phone upgrades, like only we can.

For our millennial, target audience, the phone cereal box was designed to tap into the nostalgia of childhood, a time when you couldn’t wait to wake up, inhale a bowl of your favourite cereal and just maybe, find a mystery prize at the bottom of the box.

The design of the packaging prompted discovery of the phones hero features, and also bought our brand personality to life, showing how we’ve always liked to do things differently, with a little bit of fun to make our consumers smile!

With the phone cereal box, we stayed true to the look and feel of classic cereal packaging, while making sure to integrate product messaging thoughtfully throughout. The device’s key tech specs replaced vitamins and minerals in the ‘Nutrition Facts’ panel, while the back-of-box game was a tour of the phone's hero features.

Inspired by some of culture’s most iconic cereal boxes like Lucky Charms, Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Puffs, we created bespoke fonts, eye-popping stickers, and even a playable maze. Our brand colours were used throughout, as were nods to the “bauhaus” design used in the wider integrated campaign for the phone launch.

The packaging used 100% recycled content and paper. Inside the box, recipients found a bag of exclusive branded cereal (which also acted as a protective layer), and of course — their brand new phone.

Influencers also received accessories (phone case, guide, popsocket) in an accompanying milk carton.

This activation massively exceeded our PR and social targets, generating £2.3M in equivalent media value (17x ROI), with 66M press impressions, 4.6M Social reach, and 100% Positive / Neutral Sentiment (4x brand overall), contributing to a 3x increase in total market share during Week 1 sales.

Consumers called the packaging “literally my dream delivery” and “these kinds of things make us stand out from the crowd.” Some made special unboxing videos, while press outlets even gave the cereal its own food review. The packaging was so coveted, some were selling on eBay for up to £2,000.