Harnessing humor and strategic savvy,
America's #1 meat snack brand channels Gen Z with new campaign
to bring Jack Link's WILD® sticks to
lips
MINNEAPOLIS, May 14, 2024
/PRNewswire/ - Holy stick. It's time to get wild because
Jack Link's®, the global titan in
meat snacks, today announces the launch of a new national campaign
dubbed, Feed Your Wild Side—a direct call on Gen Z to
embrace a lifestyle that celebrates authenticity, spontaneity, and
the thrill of defiance.
Synonymous with snacking, Jack
Link's reign in the meat snacking category extends beyond
jerky to meat sticks, a growing $1.8bn category in the US. The new Feed Your
Wild Side (FYWS) campaign, supporting its WILD range of meat
sticks, is part of a broad effort to recruit millions of Gen Z
consumers in the snack aisle by proving that Jack Link's WILD® is the superior,
rule-breaking, adventurous choice.
Born in partnership with creative agency, Milestone Integrated
Marketing, the Feed Your Wild Side campaign employs a
playful, yet calculated, swipe at a key Jack Link's competitor through both social and
out of home tactics (OOH).
"The ethos of FYWS is to throw away conformity and embrace your
authentic self. To get wild," says Gary
Westgate, Executive Creative Director, Milestone Integrated.
"In a world that demands playing by the rules, the wildest thing
you can be is yourself. Sometimes that means speaking truths:
Jack Link's is bolder, better, and
there to join you on your wild ride."
WILD debuted a TikTok, dedicated to wild content: from
found footage and live action to anime, with themes covering teen
drama spoofs, neo-noir horrors, high-impact anime and galactic
starship battles to name a few.
"Gen Z's preferences are clear: they demand authenticity, and
connect with brands that play outside the lines," says Stacy Barr, Partner, Milestone Integrated. "A
social-first strategy is a natural fit for FYWS— to meet them where
they're setting the rules— and surpassing more than 15 million
views since debut isn't just a win; it's a signal the campaign
resonates. We've flipped the script on passive snacking and have
turned it into a post-worthy experience."
A common thread found throughout the content: a dig on
'Jim.'
One spot features a clandestine meeting behind campus
bleachers. Leaning into each other, the girl cheekily whispers,
"Jim doesn't have to know," as Jack
Link's WILD meat sticks are revealed. Another employs a
yesteryear-like ad that encourages safe meat consumption,
urging "kids today" to stay away from "Jimbo's" meat sticks and opt
for the more premium Jack Link's
WILD meat stick.
This enthusiasm is just the beginning as the strategy will
evolve and react to real-time feedback, encouraging and
incentivizing wild user generated content.
"Nearly fifty percent of our customers start with a meat stick
as their first purchase. It's their 'on ramp' to jerky and as the
leader in the category, we plan to own this segment, too," says
Holly LaVallie, SVP Marketing,
Jack Link's. "But FYWS is about more
than product. It's about embracing good times; defying the boring;
finding adventure; and feeding their individual wild side.
Milestone has brilliantly delivered that message in a way that
disrupts and challenges the category. Our audience is listening.
They're highly engaged."
Playing to their own wild side, Jack
Link's new WILD OOH billboards playfully subvert a
competitor's slogan with graffiti, reading: "Snap into a…
'life-changing meat stick.'" Complemented by mobile billboards and
fueled by real-time interactions and sampling, the call to Gen
Z is clear: "Find it, snap a picture and tag
@JackLinksWILD before 'some Jim makes us take it down.'" Users
who spot and post the billboard are eligible to win a life-changing
meaty prize pack.
Taking WILD on a ride, the campaign will focus on college towns
this summer, actively sampling WILD meat sticks to forge a hands-on
connection with Gen-Z. More to come
on this and expanded initiatives in the coming months.
ABOUT LINK'S SNACKS (DBA "JACK
LINK'S")
Link Snacks is a leader in snacking and its
brand Jack Link's Protein Snacks is
the #1 meat snack brand in America. Headquartered in Minong, Wisconsin, Link Snacks is a
family-owned and operated company that represents a heritage of
unsurpassed quality and innovation since 1985. The company is made
up of passionate Team Members who share an uncompromising
commitment to deliver awesome products. The company's portfolio of
consumer brands include Jack
Link's®, Lorissa's Kitchen®, Wild River®, Golden Island®,
Country Fresh Meats™, BiFi®, and
Peperami®. www.jacklinks.com.
ABOUT MILESTONE INTEGRATED MARKETING
Driven by their
core principle: Truth Made Remarkable, Milestone is an
award-winning, creative, strategy and integrated media agency. They
help billion-dollar firms and cheeky challengers deliver incredible
results and punch above their weight. Fiercely independent and with
long-standing B2C and B2B clients, ninety percent of Milestone's
clients worldwide come via referral. Creativity is your last great
competitive advantage – so come be remarkable. Learn more at
www.milestoneintegrated.com.
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SOURCE Jack Link's