Dole launches the 'Momsters' - one of its biggest campaigns in SG

Sweets and popsicles are often thought of as unhealthy due to their high sugar content, and mothers, in general, usually do not behave out of character by serving their children these items. Dole Singapore decided to leverage this insight for its "My Mom's Gone Crazy" campaign to promote its fruit pops.

Aashim Malhotra, VP and MD, Food & Beverages Group Asia Pacific, Dole Sunshine Company explained to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that mothers are usually very cautious about their kids’ dietary habits and would often censor them. However, Dole Fruit Pops are made from juice and pre-biotics with no added sugar, making it a guilt-free snack.

The campaign portrays the children being flummoxed upon seeing their mothers hand out Dole Fruit Pops without even asking. From a child’s perspective, their mothers have turned into cute furry "Momsters", Malhotra said. Dole decided to use the three Momsters in its communications due to the attention they have received from children. At the brand's offline product samplings, children would come up to the standees of the Momsters to touch and play with them. Throughout the campaign, the Momsters are also seen donning different avatars.

According to Malhotra, this is the first campaign in Singapore aimed at driving healthier eating habits among children. Moreover, it is cheeky in terms of messaging such as "My mom’s gone crazy" because from a child’s perspective it is very unusual that the mother would give popsicles happily. KiSaigon, Peppercom, Spark Foundry and Lancer Media were involved in the campaign which runs for eight weeks beginning mid-November. The platforms include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, OOH and in-store merchandising as well as sampling events and community engagement activities.

Malhotra said:

This is one of our larger campaigns in Singapore focusing on roughly 30% of our marketing spend for the year.

Dole decided to go with a mobile-first approach since most consumers are on their phones these days. Also, Dole recognised that there is an increasing number of consumers who have now switched to online grocery shopping.

Aside from partnering with primarily offline retailers such as FairPrice, Sheng Siong and Caltex, Dole Fruit Pops are also available on online platforms including Shopee and RedMart. A mobile-first approach provides a seamless experience should consumers wish to purchase Fruit Pops directly on their mobile devices, Malhotra explained.

That said, Dole is mindful not to neglect its offline channels. Using an omnichannel approach, Dole aims to establish brand and product presence online while also creating offline touchpoints such as supermarket displays and samplings.

Given the campaign is airing during the Christmas season, which is also a time of giving and celebration and given one of Dole’s six promises is to help society at large, the brand is working with 10 ice cream cart uncles located in the heartlands to give away free Dole Fruit Pops and decorating their carts in Christmas colours.

"In the humdrum of our daily lives, we forget the joy that these ice cream cart uncles give to children and people at large. In this time of giving we felt we could lend a helping hand to them," he explained. He added that its partnership will help the uncles to spread the joy of healthy nutrition to more people while also increasing their regular sales of what they currently sell. "We consciously made a choice to not ‘sell’ Dole products at the carts," Malhotra said.

Dole identified the 10 uncles by figuring out who was most in need of support and matched those locations with areas where families would frequent. Being in the heartlands allows Dole to extend its reach to mothers and children directly. While Malhotra was unable to share specific figures for its ROI, he reiterated that the primary objective is to raise awareness and trial of Fruit Pops, while also driving consciousness for healthy snacking. Dole also wants to show the joy that ice cream cart uncles bring to consumers' lives.

Separately, on the marketing leadership front, Dole saw its global CMO Rupen Desai step down after nearly four years. This was part of his consultancy work for The Shed/28, otherwise known as TS/28. Some of its clients include J&J Vision Care, Sustenir - Temasek funded start-up & Unilever’s Elida Beauty.

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