How a 100-year-old brand is mastering social media

The Oreo cookie hit the century mark, and it looks better than ever thanks to its social media efforts.

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To celebrate the best-selling cookie’s centennial birthday, the brand is looking for its fans not to think about ages in triple or even double digits. It’s asking them to relive being a kid.

“It really is about bringing people together in a fun and celebratory way,” says Basil Maglaris, associate director of corporate affairs at Kraft Foods. “There’s a unique playfulness that people have with the cookie itself.”

On Facebook, Twitter and its website, Oreo is asking people to share that playful spirit through videos and photos, e-cards to friends, or a coupon for a bag of cookies. And the brand’s giving something back.

Years in the making

Kraft’s social media team was thinking about Oreo’s centennial “as far back as the 95th birthday,” says Maglaris, but work in earnest on the celebration started around spring of 2011.

The brand’s mission for the year is “celebrating the spirit of childhood,” he says, so Kraft’s planning included a global survey of parents, asking them about getting in the spirit of being a kid.

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