To remind Canadians that the holidays is all about sharing, we created #UnboxLove, a campaign where we created and sold limited edition holiday tins that gave Canadians a little less so others could have a little more. These tins were exactly the same classic Turtles holiday tin Canadians have grown up with, but with one notable exception: they were actually missing a Turtle.

We replaced each missing Turtle with the act of giving. Each tin helped send a $100 holiday gift to a Canadian family living below the poverty line.

With the creation of our limited edition holiday tins saw the creation of new packaging, and an updated aesthetic. With a more modern but still nostalgic look, we sent these premium-feeling #UnboxLove tins to older Millennial Canadian influencers, who unboxed them live on their channels. Each tin included a handwritten card, telling our influencer (and Canada) what each tin represents.

The influencers drove Canadians to a custom e-commerce site, where Canadians could send their friends and family a gift-wrapped tin with free shipping across Canada.

• Campaign achieved an unprecedented 99.7% positivity online.

• Influencer campaign achieved a 9.75% Ad Recall (50.5% above CPG norm)

• Facebook Brand Lift Study showed lift in Brand Recall of +5 points and Purchase Intent by +3 pts - more than x2 the CPG average.

• +6% growth in overall sales vs. -9% YOY (including in-store sales).

• Over 20 Million impressions in under 4 weeks.

• Received coverage across CP24, Global News, CTV, Canadian Business Journal, and Global Advisor, amongst others.

• Sold out of limited edition holiday tins.

It was imperative that Unbox Love wasn’t received as just another brand trying to “do good”, but simply as Canadians trying to help out other Canadians during the holidays. That’s why as a brand, we forwent traditional media and told the story through the voices of everyday Canadians, exclusively spreading the word with influencers and earned media. We used voice of friend to create a genuine aura around the campaign, positioning Turtles not as a holiday brand, but as a genuine part of the Canadian holiday tradition.

Our target was older Millennials, people who still have a nostalgic connection to the brand, and who with a little pluck of the heart strings, would remember Turtles as a Canadian staple at the holidays.

Sharing a box of Nestlé TURTLES is a Canadian holiday tradition. But over the past 3 years, TURTLES had seen a downward trend in sales, culminating in one of our slowest holiday seasons in over a decade, at -9% in total sales in 2016. To reverse this trend, we needed to differentiate ourselves from competing international chocolate brands, who outspent the brand 2:1, encroaching on both Turtles’ shelf space, and on its place in the hearts of Canadians. We needed to get Canadians sharing the love again.