This work is an example of how cultural insight and communications planning can be used to reinvigorate the category. Facing some of the strongest headwinds in the category’s history, Extra Gum utilized cultural insight, timing, and craft to elicit a collective emotional response, get the brand back into pop culture, and translate that impact into significant gain of sales and unprecedented market share.

2020 was not the year of gum. In 2019 the category was worth $2.95bn. By the time 2020 had drawn to a close, the impact of COVID-19 had wiped $627MM (21.3%) of that value. For Extra, this meant a loss of $88.7MM in annual revenue after 5 years of consecutive growth [1].

Given the difficult environment, not only would we need to re-ignite category sales, but also ensure that we drove disproportionate growth for Extra. This would mean returning Extra to positive dollar sales at a rate that outperformed the category.

To win at shelf we would need to get gum, and specifically Extra, on people’s minds again by driving the brand’s cultural relevance.

With the impact of COVID-19, Extra Gum was facing a significant decline in sales.

The sensitivity of the gum category was easy to diagnose. Fresh breath is the #1 driver of chewing [2], yet our bodies were distanced, and our mouths covered. Over 50% of gum purchases occur in the store unplanned [2], yet our shopping trips were fewer and faster.

Our challenge: After a year of lockdowns and social distancing, gum was practically forgotten.

Vaccine rollouts provided hope for a natural return to category growth. However, there was no guarantee of how significant this growth would be. We wanted Extra to win above and beyond the category.

This meant getting people thinking and talking about gum again. But not just any gum, we wanted to significantly improve Extra’s distinctive brand awareness in an impulse category where mental availability is critical.

There are times when the best insight isn’t a new way of thinking about a category but instead, applying what’s always been true at exactly the right time.

Data indicated that the pandemic had taken a toll on consumers’ social standards. People were lacking in confidence and motivation. But with vaccine rollouts, reemergence was in sight. The anticipation was bottled up.

Insight: Despite our rusty social skills, the anticipation for reemergence was palpable.

Extra had the potential to be right there with consumers, freshening their breath and instilling confidence during their beautifully clumsy attempts to rediscover their social swagger.

Vague vaccine rollout plans made the time for reemergence unclear. Rather than waiting for the right moment, we realized we could breakthrough and get noticed if we tapped into the timely anticipation felt around the world.

Strategy: When it’s time to get back out there, you’re going to need some Extra.

Leaning into consumers’ eager imaginations about what lay ahead, our strategy informed a creative opportunity: Be the first brand to shine a light on the joy, euphoria and chaos of the not-too-distant future.

Extra Gum was first to market with a campaign of its kind. ‘For When Its Time’ dramatized just how epic our return to the world could be. It was a storyline that hit close to home, reminding people that when it’s time to get close again, you’re going to need something to freshen up first: Extra.

The crown-jewel of our execution was a 2.5-minute film depicting a post-Covid world and ending with a call to action that ‘We could all use a fresh start.’

‘For When It’s Time’ had an immediate impact with substantial results for the business.

Within days, we were featured in news outlets like The Today Show, ABC, NBC, WGN. Google search trends for Extra hit a 5-year peak[14] and publicly available social mentions of the brand increased by 911% in one week [15].

As a result, we saw significant increases in both unaided brand awareness and unaided ad recall.

But not only did we make significant gains for Extra, we stole mental availability from our largest competitor. Increases in ad recall for Extra were paired with a significant decrease in recall for Trident [16].

Above all, we had a substantial impact on the business. Extra sustained positive dollar sales after launch with a growth 73.6% higher than the category average. With this, Extra achieved 21.5% share, the highest market share of any gum brand since Extra’s inception in 1984. [17]