We’re seeing a lot of really neat marketing campaigns these days geared at ramping up sales in the short term. The power of social media allows contests, promotions and strange and interesting campaigns to go viral very quickly, and that sort of immediacy can produce some fascinating short-term results.

One such example is the recent Kandia Dulce Rom campaign, which I learned about on ClickZ.com. Those of you who are case study junkies probably already know about this intriguing campaign, but I wanted to share it on BrandStand because it was very risky and very successful (at least in the short term).

Rom, a popular Romanian chocolate bar that prominently features the Romanian flag on its packaging, evoked patriotism and national pride to fuel sales and build brand awareness for the product.

In an elaborate hoax, Rom changed its packaging to feature the American flag, launched advertising centered on American ideals and imagery, and created videos that justified the decision to distance Rom chocolate from its Romanian heritage. (Explanations included a struggling Romanian economy and disheartened youth culture).

In one fell swoop, Rom erased all connection to its homeland, and doubled down by betting on Americana.

As with most hoaxes, this one created quite a stir, particularly online. Thousands of Romanians expressed their dissatisfaction on Facebook, YouTube and various blogs, and the wave of patriotism culminated in a flashmob to bring back the old Rom. After only a week of letting Romanians believe that the American flag campaign was real, the chocolate bar company revealed the hoax.

According to the YouTube video that profiles the campaign, Rom achieved a great deal of short-term success after the hoax:

  • In the first two weeks, the campaign reached 67% of Romanians
  • Generated 300,000 Euros worth of free media
  • In the first six days alone, Rom increased its Facebook page fan total by 300%
  • Rom ousted the previous chocolate bar leader to become Romania’s most popular chocolate bar (a 79% increase)
  • Outperformed the market by 20% in the most relevant channels
  • The “American” version of Rom completely sold out

The campaign also recently won two Grand Prix Cannes Lions in the “Promo/Activation” category, which rewards advertising geared toward triggering an immediate engagement, and the “Direct” category for direct marketing.

Again, this short-term success doesn’t necessarily translate to long-term market dominance. Nevertheless, the campaign succeeded in driving home the idea that Rom is for Romania, which is clearly an important part of Rom’s brandstory.

I also admire this campaign because I love thinking about the internal brainstorm that led to the concept. I imagine a bunch of exhausted creatives throwing out idea after idea without anything significant materializing before someone says, “Wait… what if we ditched Romania all together?”

Most agencies start internal brainstorms with the corny adage, “There is no such thing as a bad idea!” This Rom campaign definitely supports that concept, and the people in that initial Rom brainstorm should be applauded for letting this type of campaign develop and come to fruition.

Again, check out the video below for a more detailed narrative, and let us know in the comments if this is something your company would ever try!