The KitKat Heist: What Viral Brand Moments Actually Teach About Attention

In this episode of Full Fat Marketing, Leonora breaks down how the unexpected KitKat heist became one of the most talked-about food stories, and what it reveals about how attention really works in today’s market.

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And if you’re building a food, drink or hospitality brand and want help applying these strategies to your business, feel free to reach out at leonora@lrbcreative.com

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Disclaimer: Insights shared are based on Leonora’s experience with food and hospitality brands and are for educational purposes only. Results may vary.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I got my first hate comment on the podcast last week, which I suppose means that we're officially in business. And I love the way I say that with a massive smile on my face, because it almost weirdly feels a bit like a milestone. Maybe this is a sign of growth. Apparently, I've now reached the stage where someone has listened to something that costs them absolutely nothing and thought, you know what? I need to be really, really unpleasant about this, which is honestly quite a fascinating use of free will. And apparently I have stupid hair, so there we are. But anyway, speaking of craziness, somewhere in Europe, someone stolen 12 tons of Kit Kats and accidentally created one of the most talked-about food stories of the year, which is honestly quite humbling because the internet will ignore your carefully planned campaign. But a lorry full of Kit Kats disappearing, now we're listening. I'm Lenora and this is the Full Fact Marketing Podcast, where you'll hear the uncomfortable strategy truths for FB brands that most people won't tell you, but I will. Now, this story is actually borderline ridiculous, but it's also a brilliant example of how attention can actually work. So here's what happened. A truck carrying around 12 tons of Kit Kats was stolen while in transit through Europe, which is already ridiculous, but it gets better. This is not just a load of normal Kit Kats heading to a warehouse somewhere. A huge chunk of the shipment was actually from their new Formula One range. Those race car-shaped Kit Kats, I'm not sure if you've seen them. This truck was travelling from central Italy to Poland right before Easter time, which is obviously one of the worst possible moments for a chocolate brand to have a full truck full of chocolate disappearing. We're talking 413,793 bars, which means this was not some petty little snack-related incident. This was organized crime. It was certainly ambitious. My main question is: who chose that particular truck? I mean, the whole thing sounds less like a supply chain issue and more like the plot of a really ridiculous film, which I would absolutely watch. And then not only that, Kit Kat made it 10 times more interesting by leaning into the absurdity of it all, including launching a tracker that let people actually check batch codes to see whether their bar came from the stolen shipment, which is honestly hilarious. And they were really clever on how they actually shared it. But my main question is what is the long-term plan for that much Kit Kat? Like what? Whoever stole it? Like, what is the plan here? Like, what is the game plan? Like being set for life with chocolate? I mean, I'm so confused. But let's be honest, like, this isn't necessarily serious news. Nobody's life's changed. There's no deep social issue here. There's just obviously a lot of money being lost and just some really big annoyance for Kit Kat. It's just mostly why someone stole an absolutely deranged amount of Kit Kats. And weirdly, this is exactly why this works. Now, the thing is, internet loves low-stakes chaos. The story is the perfect level of absurd because you hear it once and immediately want to say to someone, I mean, have you seen this? Someone stole 12 tons of Kit Kats. And that's the whole thing. I mean, it's not just content, it's a really retellable story. And that's where so many brands get it wrong. They're trying to create things that look really nice instead of things people would actually chat about on a water cooler break. Now, obviously, I'm not saying that the marketing lesson here is go and stage a confectioner crime. The useful bit is this brands don't always need to create that level of attention from scratch. Sometimes they just get handed a really bizarre moment that already almost like builds that energy around it. And the real skill is being able to spot this. This was not some polished campaign. The Kit Kats were actually stolen, which makes the whole thing even funnier. But if you think about it, there are so many times in your business, whether that be in a restaurant, a coffee shop, a bakery, whether you own a food brand, whether you work in a food brand, I mean, there are so many situations of your day-to-day that are hilarious or that are ridiculous or that are absurd. I mean, there are so many things that happen. And sadly, I actually don't think in food and beverage these things get talked about enough. They're just sort of talked amongst staff, and then that's it. And really, these are the sort of moments that are gold and that can really give and build your brand and give it that personality, especially when engaging with consumers as well. And of course, you can't always create a moment, but you can get much better at recognizing one. And usually brands are so focused on like the content calendar, they miss these really weird, funny, highly shareable moments already happening around them. The thing is, they could have tried to keep this story under wraps because the bars were stolen late March and they only shared it online and to the general public on the first of April. They could not have mentioned it on their socials at all, and yet they decided to, which was amazing because it had surprise, familiarity, ridiculousness, and very low emotional effort from their consumers. So if your brand feels a little bit flat right now, ask yourself this. What are we giving people to actually talk about? The brands that actually tend to stay culturally alive are usually not the ones posting the most. They're the ones giving people something really funny, something weird, something surprising. Although apparently theft on this level gets serious results, it seems, but you did not hear that from me. Now, if you're a founder, cafe owner, operator, or marketer listening to this, here's a practical takeaway of this episode. People talk about what feels weird, easy, and worth repeating. And if your brand can understand that, it becomes much easier to stay relevant without constantly screaming for attention. And somewhere out there, someone is sitting on 12 tons of Kit Kats, having accidentally taught the internet a serious marketing lesson. And honestly, I do kind of respect it. And that's the Full Fat version. Now, tomorrow I'm breaking down why Chick-fil-A makes it so easy to keep people coming back using a marketing funnel. But before you break a sweat hearing that term, I promise I will break it down for you so easily. Once you understand it, you start seeing growth and noticing things very differently. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, you can listen to Full Fat Marketing Podcast wherever you get your podcasts with new bite-sized episodes released daily from Monday to Friday. You can thank me later for that. And if you enjoy this episode, please send it to someone who's currently trying to solve all their marketing problems with another beige carousel. This might give them a laugh and actually get them inspired as well. I'd also love it if you left a review, because it really helps more people find it. I'll see you tomorrow.