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Digital signage key ingredient for tasty Instagram selfie ad campaign

Take one part digital signage, add in selfies, social media and fine chocolate for an interesting mix as an integrated campaign takes to the streets of San Francisco.

August 25, 2014 by Christopher Hall — w, t

A tasty digital out-of-home campaign in San Francisco is combining fine chocolate, social media and digital signage in a fine recipe for branding and engaging with the buying public.

Hershey's-owned chocolatier Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker recently launched the "Wonderfully Complicated" out-of-home advertising campaign in San Francisco that features everyday consumers as the stars, via 50 outdoor digital signage boards across the city, according to an announcement from Scharffen Berger. 

The company brands itself as "crafted from the world's finest cacao" and as including "incredible taste complexities and varietals from different parts of the globe." So its campaign combines the art of the selfie to illustrate that "just like the people who enjoy it, fine artisanal chocolate is anything but simple — and neither can be described with just one word."

The campaign features various creative executions produced by San Francisco advertising agency Camp + King that celebrate the "wonderfully complicated" makeup of the chocolate and the personalities of the people who eat it with lines such as, "I am dark, spicy and mysterious," or, "I am sweet, salty and a little nutty," among others. 

And anyone can participate, just by taking a selfie, adding the hashtag #wonderfullycomplicated and sharing it publicly on Instagram. If chosen, their selfie, with a new headline made up of various adjectives, will pop up in rotation with the professionally executed creative on digital bus shelters around San Francisco and on Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker's Facebook page, "allowing consumers to turn selfies into a starring role in an advertising campaign," the company said.

According to research published by GlobalWebIndex in Jan. 2014 and cited in the Scharffen Berger announcement, Instagram is the fastest growing social media site worldwide. The social media channel also aligns with the brand's target — "an educated, well-traveled woman who enjoys an active social, cultural, foodie life with her friends and family" — it said.  Food is one of the most popular topics searched for and published on Instagram, and, according to App Data, 68 percent of Instagram users are women, the company said.

"At Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, we think it's time that artisanal chocolate proudly stood up for its depth and unique flavors. Our fans are taste explorers, people with palates that crave adventure as much as comfort, and 'Wonderfully Complicated' brings this to life," Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker Vice President Bernie Banas said in the announcement. "Tying the campaign to social media and featuring chocolate lovers in the ads allows us to make a direct connection with them, celebrating that we are both one of life's great pleasures that are proudly, boldly and always … wonderfully complicated."

Watch a video posted by Camp + King showing the campaign in action below:

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