Mondelez Media Innovators program aims to lift digital advertising innovation

Snacking giant, Mondelez International, has followed up its Mobile Futures Program partnering key brands with local startups, with a fresh competition offering Cadbury marketers a share $1 million in advertising budget for innovative digital ideas.

The latest program, dubbed Media Innovators, is aimed at putting the spotlight on internal entrepreneurship and innovation. The initiative sees nine teams of digital marketers from the group’s chocolate portfolio, including Picnic, Timeout, Freddo, Dairy Milk and Cadbury Baking, battling for a share of commercial advertising budget by coming up with digitally-led marketing ideas utilising new media opportunities.

The program is being run in conjunction with Mondelez’s agency partners, Carat and Saatchi and Saatchi.

The nine competitors pitched their ideas earlier this year in front of a panel of experts including staff from Mondelez, MCN, Saatchi and Saatchi and Carat. The top three winners and their projects are expected to be announced in coming weeks and will be rewarded with advertising spend.

“As well as generating some fantastic marketing ideas, Media Innovators is an investment in our own people,” said Mondelez A/NZ marketing director, Kjetil Undhjem. “Media Innovators gives marketers the opportunity to lead the purely digital projects from start to finish, giving them a rare opportunity to focus their attention on digital and hopefully to get some great results.”

Carat group innovation director, Sarah Stringer, said the Media Innovators program was a good way to encourage digital skills and campaign thinking.

“With new media habits and technologies evolving at a staggering rate, we’re encouraging all our clients to challenge themselves and our agency to test concepts and platforms to gain a greater understanding of potential opportunities,” she said.

“Mondelez has a proven track record in this space, particularly after the success of the Mobile Futures startup program, and were the natural fit to kick off the program.”

The Mobile Futures Program was launched in Australia last year and saw five key Mondelez brands – Cadbury Dairy Milk, BelVita, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Cadbury Favourites and Marvellous Creation – partnered with local startups in the mobile space.

The startups were chosen as part of a pitch competition and included image recognition software, Snaploader; mobile app, MyShout; interactive magazine maker, Issue; geo-analytics provider, Proximiti; and Wi-Fi and location tech provider, SkiFii.

More on Mobile Futures

• Mondelez Mobile Futures Program: Brand pilots and lessons learnt
• Mondelez Australia MD: What partnering with startups has taught me as a brand leader
• Brand, mobile startup partnerships at Mondelez converting customers
• Marketing innovation depends on cultural transformation: Cadbury, Oreo media chief
• BelVita Australian brand chief: Marketers need an entrepreneurial mindset

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