Cadbury Worldwide Hide: The anatomy of a campaign

Confectionary giant Cadbury is behind some of the most creative marketing campaigns of recent years. Its latest effort, the Cadbury Worldwide Hide, is no exception.

Let’s take a closer look at how Worldwide Hide seamlessly fuses tradition, technology, and togetherness to create an innovative Easter campaign.

What is Cadbury Worldwide Hide?

The Cadbury Worldwide Hide is a giant virtual Easter egg hunt.

You can hide a digital Easter egg anywhere in the world, from the most remote locations to bustling city streets and famous cultural venues, before inviting your loved ones to hunt for the eggs through the Worldwide Hide platform.

It’s a new spin on an old tradition, tapping into Easter-centric ideas around giving, family, and togetherness.

The campaign also shows how far tools like Google Maps and Street View have evolved, as without this interconnected virtual tech, the concept would be impossible to bring to life on such a grand, digital scale.

VCCP London, the agency behind Cadbury Worldwide Hide, first launched the campaign in 2021, when pandemic lockdowns and social distancing made getting together in person more difficult.

Cadbury and VCCP wanted to ensure their campaign not only tapped into one of the brand’s core building blocks, generosity - but also encouraged meaningful connections at a time when it seemed like global restrictions on gatherings would continue almost indefinitely.

The campaign also needed to generate buzz around Cadbury’s products during one of the company’s peak sales periods (Easter).

How did the campaign launch?

In its first year, Cadbury Worldwide Hide launched simultaneously across four market segments: the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Returning for the third year running in 2023, the campaign was launched with a 20-second TV ad and digital billboard advertising in target cities, featuring virtual eggs hidden in real locations nearby.

These include a range of destinations designed to appeal to core market segments and a broad range of customer interests.

The brand has also developed wildly creative partnerships, teaming up with the famous ‘Instagram egg’ for some inspired social media promotion.

Every tactic is designed to encourage more people than ever to hide an egg this Easter.

Do you have to pay to take part?

Cadbury Worldwide Hide offers both free and paid journeys. The virtual option remains completely free to use, but people who want to send a physical Easter egg are also catered for through the platform. With a few clicks, you can buy and send an egg direct to someone’s door, complete with branded Worldwide Hide packaging.

Including this optional feature means people can immerse themselves in the Worldwide Hide and generates sales for Cadbury - while ensuring there’s no financial barrier to taking part in the main (virtual) event.

How does Cadbury Worldwide Hide work?

The campaign has three steps:

1. Hide your Easter egg

Google Maps is integrated into Cadbury Worldwide Hide, providing oodles of location data. With the world at your fingertips, search for countries, cities, towns, or villages to narrow your selection, and choose a hiding place that means something to you and your recipient.

If you can’t think of anywhere to hide your egg, then Cadbury offers handy hints through its ‘Inspire Me’ prompt.

When you’ve found the perfect spot, enter Google Street View and pop the egg in place. Not everywhere on the map offers Street View. Try to stick to areas that are highlighted in yellow on the map (indicating Street View), for the best user experience.

2. Write the clue

Pen a handy clue to help the recipient find their egg. This can be as easy or as difficult as you like, though more complex clues might take a little longer to solve! Add your email and the email of your recipient (or generate a link to send to them).
Then it’s time to move on to stage three…

3. The egg hunt begins!

When they have your clue, the recipient can start hunting for the egg on the map. When they find it, they’ll receive a congratulations message. If the sender has opted for the paid version of Worldwide Hide, then the recipient will also receive a real Easter egg through the post after finding its virtual counterpart (or automatically within a month of purchase).

What makes this campaign great?

Cadbury Worldwide Hide has lots of great features, but we’re particularly impressed by its use of tech, its charitable wing, and the mobile-first approach that puts taking part right in the palm of people’s hands…

Supporting charitable causes

In 2023, Cadbury added a charitable edge to the project, partnering with organisations where the Worldwide Hide has launched.

Food bank charity the Trussell Trust is the company’s Easter partner this year, with the company donating 75,000 Easter chocolates to over 200 Trussell Trust branches across the nation.

Charities benefit from extra support and exposure, Cadbury benefits from added charitable connections and custom, and customers benefit from a fun, interactive way to show they care about the causes and community close to them.

Generating a mobile-first experience

Cadbury and VCCP ensured Worldwide Hide would work on any online platform, including desktop and most crucially, mobile devices. They wanted people to have a seamless experience with the brand - and this move also aided in inclusivity, encouraging people to take part using the method that suited them best.

Integrating with Google

The inventive use of Google Maps and Google Street View API shows everyday digital tools can have a big impact, but also lays bare some of the current limitations in the field.

Countries that have been widely mapped by Google have plenty of locations where an egg can be found using Street View, but countries with more restrictions offer a less dynamic experience.

In these instances, both the sender and the recipient will have to make do with a static Google Map, rather than enjoying the experience of hiding and hunting down an egg more dynamically.

This highlights how casually many countries have adopted detailed digital location mapping of their towns and cities, and how willing (and able) we are to tap into this surveillance for non-essential purposes.

How does Cadbury Worldwide Hide compare to other Cadbury campaigns?

Cadbury has never been short of great marketing campaigns. Back in 2007, the company launched its famous drumming gorilla TV ad. The advert was considered so audacious that it nearly didn’t get made at all, but it’s since been attributed with a 10% rise in Cadbury’s sales.

In 2015, Cadbury was onto another winner when the company dipped its toe into experiential marketing with the launch of a Creme Egg pop-up cafe, serving treats such as Creme Egg and soldiers and Creme Egg toasties. The campaign proved to be an instant success, and Cadbury has since tried different variations on the format for various products in its range.

The Worldwide Hide is a fantastic example of how to run a creative, innovative marketing campaign that captures the attention of your audience and helps build brand loyalty. The open, interactive nature of Cadbury Worldwide Hide also makes it great for boosting engagement, reaching new audiences, and fostering a true sense of community.

The campaign’s success has continued far beyond its original scope, helping to make it a staple of Cadbury’s annual Easter marketing strategy.

Want to hide an Easter egg for us?

We’d love to find it! Sign up for Worldwide Hide and send your clue to info@sookio.com. To make marketing magic happen, contact the Sookio team.