Dive Brief:

• Two Nestlé brands, Butterfinger and Crunch, have chosen Reach Agency as their new creative agency of record (AOR), according to a press release made available to Marketing Dive.
• Reach will work with both brands' media agency, MVM // Metavision Media, on integrating creative and media executions as well as measurement and optimization for those efforts. It's already developing projects for Butterfinger to support key initiatives, including two product launches. For Crunch, which hasn't advertised in more than seven years, it will introduce a new marketing campaign, tagline and visual identity on digital channels and social media starting January 2018. Reach will develop a matching campaign for a new Crunch product in March 2018, the release said.
• Reach is a social-first agency, co-founder Gabe Gordon said in a statement, adding that the shop will work to make its Nestlé brand clients "top of mind for a new digital-facing generation of consumers."

Dive Insight:

Nestlé is clearly trying to refresh the brand image of some of its signature candies, putting a greater focus on digital and social media channels to reach consumers on the devices where they're more frequently spending their time. The popularity of mobile phones is making it easier to engage shoppers at convenience and grocery stores in the moment using location data, which can increase the type of impulse buys that candy makers thrive on. The AOR announcement additionally arrives during a big sales season, right around Halloween, and Reach Agency is already working on a Butterfinger campaign for the holiday, according to the release.   

Putting a fresh marketing push behind Crunch also comes at a time when consumers' taste for candy might be waning in favor of healthier eating alternatives. Nestlé's confectionery business, in particular, has struggled in recent years, and Food Dive reported in June that the company was exploring a potential sale, with a firm decision expected to be made by the end of 2017. Reach Agency's plans to work with two key brands into next year, along with the hints toward new products, show Nestlé is, at least for now, still working to build out these offerings.  

Nestlé might also be feeling pressure from some of its big competitors in the candy space which have started to explore more innovative marketing strategies using mobile. To help introduce a new caramel flavor, Mar's M&M's candy brand converted Times Square into an interactive arcade using augmented reality earlier this summer.