Mondelez World Travel Retail Activates Festive Campaign Across European Hubs
Mondelez World Travel Retail (WTR) has launched a strategic series of airport activations designed to capture the holiday traffic surge across key European destinations. The campaign, which spotlights the confectionery giant’s Toblerone and Milka brands, is currently operational at London Luton, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Naples, and Rome airports. Executed in partnership with Lagardère Travel Retail and Extime Duty Free, the initiative utilizes Mondelez WTR’s “Destination: Value” framework, aiming to capitalize on the emotional resonance and gifting traditions associated with end-of-year travel.
The activation centers on two distinct brand narratives. Toblerone’s “Remember to bring one back” campaign positions the Swiss chocolate as a quintessential travel gift, featuring limited-edition festive packaging designed to drive impulse purchases. Simultaneously, Milka’s “Holidays taste better with Milka” campaign focuses on themes of indulgence and communal celebration. To differentiate the travel retail experience from high street offerings, select locations feature personalization services, including digital photo boxes and customized sleeve or ribbon printing, alongside exclusive seasonal product releases.
Driving Sweet Success: Marketing And Advertising Initiatives In Chocolate Confectionery
Cross-category lifestyle collaborations Brands in the chocolate confectionery space are increasingly moving beyond food partnerships to collaborate with fashion, beauty, and home goods sectors, positioning chocolate as a lifestyle accessory rather than a mere consumable. Examples include the M&M’s x Crocs partnership which released a limited-edition collection of clogs featuring “Jibbitz” charms and branding, bridging the gap between snack culture and streetwear. Meanwhile the Hershey’s x Beekman 1802 partnership saw Hershey’s entering the beauty space through a collaboration with goat milk skincare brand Beekman 1802, to launch body creams and soaps scented like Milk Chocolate, Snickerdoodle, and Candy Cane.
Experiential and immersive retail Physical retail spaces are being utilized for sensory experiences and interactive storytelling rather than just transactions, particularly during holiday windows. Lindt Canada’s “Lindor Holiday Experience” activation allows visitors to record personal holiday messages inside a branded installation, rewarding engagement with product samples. Meanwhile, M&M’s (USA), as part of the launch of its rewards program offered a “sleepover” experience inside its Times Square flagship store, turning the retail space into a hospitality venue.
Personalization and digital co-creation: Technology is being deployed to allow consumers to customize their physical products or engage in digital content creation associated with the treat. As part of Toblerone’s travel retail strategy, the brand offers personalized sleeve and ribbon printing for gift givers. Kinder’s “Simply Wonderful” and “Elf on the Shelf” campaigns utilize the Applaydu app to offer QR-code-activated storytelling, allowing parents and children to co-create digital adventures. Tony’s Chocolonely’s “Mystery Box” campaign included DIY kits allowing consumers to create their own wrappers, encouraging user-generated content and physical interaction.
Gamified loyalty and consumer rewards Brands are formalizing consumer relationships through structured loyalty programs and high-value sweepstakes to drive data collection and repeat purchase. Mars launched its first-ever rewards program, M&M’s Fun Club allowing users to earn points for purchases and redeem them for experiences and merchandise. Ferrero Rocher’s “Raise A Rocher” sweepstakes incentivizes engagement by offering luxury prizes like glassware and gift cards, supporting their new premium brand platform.