For the past 75 years, Smarties has been a beloved Canadian brand – and that kind of nostalgia can carry you a long way. However, in late 2014, research confirmed that SMARTIES had slipped as a top-of-mind brand due to lack of advertising support. Canadians hadn't outgrown SMARTIES – they had simply lost touch with them. We were faced with the challenge of reintroducing a brand that hadn't been vocal for many years in a modern way that would appeal to millennial females without alienating Canadians of all ages.

When we launched SMARTIES on Instagram on Feb. 10, 2015, we needed a campaign that would tick a few boxes. Since we were introducing the #HowDoYouSmarties campaign, we wanted to celebrate Canada's unique SMARTIES rituals: the sorters, the colour coders, the red-ones­last eaters. We also knew we wanted to take full advantage of the visual beauty of Instagram while putting the famous colours of SMARTIES front and center.

So we assembled a team of designers, writers, and glue-gunners to create a giant typographic mosaic, handmade out of SMARTIES, saying a personal "hello!" to the users of Instagram.

To find the nine most popular names among Canadians on Instagram, we searched various sources for popular baby names across every province from 1990-1995 (StatsCan, baby name websites, birth databases, etc). We cross-checked our list against a list of globally popular names to capture Canada's diversity. Lastly, we cross-cross-checked our list against an Adweek list of the 20 most popular first names on Facebook.

Once we had our nine names, we started on the colour-coded SMARTIES mosaic. Designers went to work creating nine unique typographic treatments for each name, then we glued thousands of SMARTIES (by hand) onto giant boards.

The mosaic took up a full grid when viewed on a mobile device – essentially acting as a takeover.

So we had names and a giant SMARTIES mosaic. Now, the tagging started. Working within Instagram's character/tagging restrictions, we calculated that each of the nine posts would allow us to mention approximately 200 users and tag approximately 20. So nine posts could generate around 1,980 immediate impressions. We would also have the opportunity to extend reach into users' communities, as each person had approximately 194 followers. With immediate mentioning, tagging, and the ability to get into fan's feeds, we calculated the stunt would total approximately 4,000 immediate impressions in the freemium model.

Numbers-wise, the "Smarties Shout Out" received hundreds of likes and follows in the first 48 hours, well above our goals and industry standards for this platform with zero paid media support. But beyond the numbers, fan sentiment was the campaign's biggest win. Fans expressed genuine love for the brand and the Shout Out itself. One fan happened to be international pop star Michael Bublé, who has won Grammys and World Music Awards, and who also appreciates having his name written in Smarties. In addition, the campaign earned media coverage from strategy, Marketing Magazine and Canadian Grocer.