MILKA GENERATION UNGAP

DENTSU CREATIVE ROMANIA Marius Tianu Regional Creative Director Ana Ciobotaru Group Creative Director Delia Mija Group Creative Director Dan Talpalariu Copywriter Demir Pienaru Art Director Adelina Gavrila Art Director Elena Mitan Head of Social Media Georgiana Tatu Social Media Manager Isabelle Dandoczi Social Media Manager Mircea Gheorghe Research and Insights Director Alina Axinte Client Lead Alexandra Calinoiu Client Executive Carmen Simion Client Partner

Generation UnGap was centered around the digital tool, The Tenderness Translator, extending its reach beyond digital platforms to outdoor, in-store, events, radio, and TV. Rooted in chocolate sharing and bonding, it fostered connections across generations. The brand and its product range served as vehicles for creativity, offering a digital tool and ecosystem to facilitate intergenerational understanding and create a unified brand experience. BACKGROUND Being a chocolate brand is not so sweet in today’s big picture: inflation, private label uprise, market fragmentation and digital divide. Milka, a beloved brand which strongly believes in sharing chocolatey sweets between people of all ages, had to face yet another obstacle: the gaps between the active four different generations (Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z). The generation gap is worsened by endless technological upgrades, that widens the chasm between generations, exacerbating differences and misunderstandings. Milka conducted a research to deep dive into this subject and learned that, despite the differences, people from the four generations want to connect but don’t know how to even start a conversation. Therefore, we created a nationwide digital toolkit to help them get to know each other a little bit better. The campaign placed the generational reconnection topic on the public agenda and enabled Milka's rise in volumes & consideration. IDEA Milka Generation Ungap: A nationwide campaign aimed at reconnecting the four active generations through sweet treats sharing and smart conversation starters. We took people’s curiosity about each other’s experiences and created a digital tool for translating cultural terms from one generation to the others. In order to offer true talking points, the tool translated some of the most popular cultural elements from 4 generations (Baby boomer 1946-1964, Gen x 1965-1980, Millennial 1981-1996, Gen z 1997-2012) in 5 main areas: everyday idioms, technology, personal style (personal grooming & fashion), lifestyle (nature, going out, games, etc.) and entertainment (music, movies). The tool was rooted in a digital platform where they could choose what generation they wanted to bond with and learn cultural terms. But it was also the core of a multi-touchpoint campaign where we saw each generation’s preferred channel as an opportunity to bond people. STRATEGY The campaign stemmed from a profound insight into the modern human condition: despite the proliferation of digital connectivity, people feel increasingly isolated and disconnected from one another. Extensive market research, social listening, and trend analysis revealed a prevailing sentiment of loneliness and disconnect among all our target audiences. As a result, instead of following the trend of targeting Gen Z, we took a different approach, and talked with all the four different generations, spanning 70 years, to help them understand each other better. Behind the scenes of the campaign were comprised of 1) adding to the public agenda scientific proof of the generational gap, 2) exploring the generational need for meaningful connection and 3) onboarding relationship experts and psychologists that confirmed that the solution of a more connected communication leads to more experiences together. The background for Milka’s campaign ambition to bridge the gaps generations with more connection was sweet and solid. EXECUTION The Translator was a one-of-a-kind tool aimed at helping generations better understand each other’s slang and cultural references. It was the center of a multi touch point campaign where we used each generation’s preferred channel to promote it. Based on it, we created a video series with a mix of popular influencers from each generation demonstrating how the tool could help people bond. We also created an unexpected take-over of Adevărul, a top Romanian newspaper, and presented Baby Boomers with the Gen Z slang. On Spotify we created musical playlists dedicated to each generation, while radio and TV shows used the tool to engage with their audiences. Our digital tool also appeared in stores through limited edition packaging showcasing the terms. On social media and even the subway we promoted surprising translations. Our communication and media strategy built the optimal mix of channels to make sure we reach each generation. OUTCOME The gap between generations truly melted away. Using GWI research data we have determined that we are talking to approximately 11M Romanians. The Tenderness Translator leveraged +10 million impressions, while over 70% of the users that landed on its page interacted with it for an average of +1 minute to find out how to better connect with a different generation. Our whole campaign garnered over 152 million impressions and over 760k clicks. We are proud to say that we had over 9.2 million reach. Brand indicators went up also: The best choice for me and my family +14pp Brand purpose +12pp