Peeps are marshmallows shaped like chicks, bunnies, and other animals that are sold in the United States and Canada. Different shapes are also utilized for different holidays.
Peeps are traditionally used to fill Easter baskets, but new advertising efforts promote the candy as “Peeps – Always in Season,” as Peeps has now expanded to include Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day; since 2014, Peeps Minis have been offered year-round.
What Are Peeps?
Every year, I purchase Peeps, but I do not really eat them because I find them to be disgusting.
Look check the ingredient list carefully — there’s a lot of sugar, artificial flavoring, and gelatin (I once placed a Peep in the microwave to entertain my niece and saw it swell to almost four times its original size because of the gelatin in it).
Peeps used to be a seasonal treat, but owing to creative marketing and brand collaborations, they’re now available all year, with unusual flavors including pickle (say what? ), hot tamale, fruit punch, red velvet, candy cane, pancakes, and syrup (ugh), sour watermelon, and more (check out this article for a review of these flavors).
Why am I mentioning Peeps today?
Because Peeps are a superb illustration of brand partnership marketing’s success.
A brand partnership is a contract between two or more companies or organizations. Companies work together to boost brand awareness, break into new markets, and provide value to products and services through these collaborations.
Peeps were originally intended to be a seasonal product (the Easter season accounts for around 75% of Peeps sales each year), but it has since expanded to include home, clothes, personal care, and other food items.
Peeps had a difficulty that we can all learn from: how do you keep a brand in front of people and keep people thinking about it when you don’t have a lot of money to invest in marketing? The solution? Several important strategic marketing alliances.
Brands frequently collaborate on hybrid items to increase their awareness. When renowned companies join together, the awareness you create around the partnership helps to build excitement and buzz. This may present chances for media and social media influencers.
Peeps took advantage of its brand names and marketing strengths by partnering with major corporations such as PepsiCo and Kellogg (for Peeps cereal and other products).
When brands teamed up with Peeps around Easter, they were able to make a bigger seasonal marketing push and keep their products top of mind.
Peeps is a sentimental brand that evokes childhood memories as well as the arrival of spring. That emotional bond is stronger than any fondness for Peeps.
As we can see with Peeps, building a favorable brand connection and using the power of strong partnerships with big brands is a winning combination for a marketing campaign.
Peep’s other marketing methods are as follows:
Every year in National Harbor, in front of the Peeps & Company store, a “Peeps Eating” event is held. Matt Stonie of California, the 2017 winner, ate 255 Peeps in five minutes.
Several newspapers conduct annual contests where readers can submit images of Peeps dioramas.
The Annual International Peeps Art Exhibition is held in April at the Racine Art Museum. The contest, with the theme “peep-powered work of art,” is open to anyone.
Further, Wonder Street has purchased the rights to the candies, with David Goldblum writing and producing alongside Christine and Mark Holder, on April 5, 2021. The narrative of the film revolved around a mishmash of Peeps characters that embarked on a cross-country journey to attend Peepsfest, an annual brand celebration in Pennsylvania.
