At 3.5 million strong, Skittles' Facebook fan base was one of the largest of any brands on the web. The problem was that these fans were largely dormant. They were passionate about the Rainbow, but they weren't engaging with the Skittles brand they loved. We were tasked to activate this Skittles fan base by adding additional fans and increasing communication between both fellow fans and the brand. The majority of our target was comprised of teens. They were always online and always looking for something fun and random to do. Simply consuming brand content was no longer enough for them. They wanted to be part of the creation process and have an active role in the brand conversation. With this growing Facebook fan page, there was literally a mob of Skittles fans ready and willing to engage with the Rainbow.

We created a Facebook campaign that sought to crowdsource the millions of Skittles fans and inspire them to take action by causing some random fun in both the digital and physical worlds. The campaign, or movement, called 'Mob the Rainbow' was a year-long series of digital events. Our first mob event, 'Valentine the Rainbow,' asked fans to shower an unsuspecting meter maid with love. The event lived on the Facebook tab, a Skittles event page, and Facebook ads, where fans could write personal Valentine's Day messages to the meter maid. A Skittles Mob Boss profile encouraged fans to participate and kept them updated on future mob events.

Over 42,000 fans wrote Valentine’s Day cards to an unsuspecting meter maid for the first mob. The resulting viral video not only created buzz around the “Mob the Rainbow” initiative, but also helped increase the size of Skittles’ fan base and create powerful engagement that was measureable by the heavy increase in comments, shared content, and media consumption by fans.

For the second mob, we gave the mob itself the chance to decide the fun with 'Poll the Rainbow.' After seventy-two hours and 42,000 votes, the choice was made: 'Skittles Gifting Tree.' The branded tree, located in a busy park, distributed hundreds of bags of Skittles to unsuspecting passersby. The resulting video, having captured the entire day's worth of gift giving, was rejoiced by fans who felt they made the fun possible.

For the third mob, the mob itself was once again in the driver's seat. This time, giving one young dreamer the opportunity to achieve an unusual goal: attending bowling college. All they had to do was gather 100,000 'Likes' on Facebook for his cause and the 'Skittles Rainbow Scholarship' would be his. Thanks to the support of more than 100,000 'Likes' from Skittles fans, James from Indiana is now $10,000 closer to completing his degree in bowling industry management.

In the first six months of 2010, the Skittles fan base doubled to 7 million. As more fans participate and share their experiences, the mob will grow and so will its potential for bigger pay-offs and, most importantly, fun for those who made it possible. This campaign took a largely dormant fan base and transformed it into an active Mob, capable of causing fun just about anywhere.