RITZ Crackers is Reimagining Seasonal FUN with The Great RITZ Holiday Parade

EAST HANOVER, N.J., Nov. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- They say it's the most wonderful time of the year; a time when we put our normal routines on hold to celebrate with friends and family. We play more, we eat more, but do we always have more fun? For many, the pressure to orchestrate and host the "perfect holiday" can become a burden and turn into more stress than joy. This year RITZ Crackers has reimagined its seasonal program in today's digital era to give consumers a truly unique holiday experience.

Widely known for bringing FUN to any occasion, RITZ Crackers is turning "must-do's" into "can't waits" and is proud to debut its multi-platform Great RITZ Holiday Parade.  An innovative take on a traditional holiday icon, this digital parade challenges the norms of holiday marketing and transforms how consumers celebrate. The Great Ritz Holiday Parade will march across the web from Thanksgiving to Christmas, spreading valuable entertainment, food and shopping deals, recipe ideas and FUN! Unlike traditional parades, which are mainly a spectator event, RITZ is inviting its loyal fan base to actively participate throughout the season by creating their own customized floats and following the parade online. 

Each stop on the parade route offers strategically-planned content and value to maximize utility and fun for the entire family. RITZ looked closely at historical social and search data throughout the holiday season to uncover high volume – and often stressful - seasonal tasks such as decorating the house, preparing meals, wrapping gifts or making travel arrangements. The brand then used this data to inform not only where the parade will march each week, but also the specific offers and fun content it will deliver.     

"It's too easy to get caught up in the stress of the holidays, so we made it a point this year to put ourselves in our consumers' shoes and help them enjoy the holidays with their family and friends," said Katrina Cohen, Senior Brand Manager of RITZ at Mondelēz International. "When developing The Great RITZ Holiday Parade, we strategically designed our content and offers to be truly helpful, to bring a smile, and to encourage sharing."

The Great RITZ Holiday Parade officially kicks off on Thursday, November 28 and will be featured in a new television commercial airing during the national coverage of The Thanksgiving Day Parade.

To help execute all the parade stops, RITZ partnered with a variety of online retailers and websites to deliver holiday fun. For example, during the first week of December, RITZ's data shows search trends and social conversations spike around the topic of holiday cards so The Great RITZ Holiday Parade will be marching across MSN, offering an exclusive offer on Felix Doolittle stationary.  Similarly, data shows a surge in conversation around last minute gift ideas the week leading up to Christmas, so MSN is offering consumers a special offer on Kollaburra boots.

Other scheduled deals and partners throughout the parade include free specialty cards from Sincerely, discounts at the Walmart photo studio, $10 OFF at Living Social, and The Food Network Thanksgetaway Sweepstakes.

Visit RITZparade.com to join the fun, create custom floats using the online float builder tool, find exclusive offers and follow the parade all season long. Fans can also catch up on the action by following RITZ Crackers on Facebook and Twitter.

About Mondelēz International

Mondelēz International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) is a global snacking powerhouse, with 2012 revenue of $35 billion.  Creating delicious moments of joy in 165 countries, Mondelēz International is a world leader in chocolate, biscuits, gum, candy, coffee and powdered beverages, with billion-dollar brands such as Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate, Jacobs coffee, LU, Nabisco and Oreo biscuits, Tang powdered beverages and Trident gum. Mondelēz International is a proud member of the Standard and Poor's 500, NASDAQ 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com and www.facebook.com/mondelezinternational. 

SOURCE Mondelez International, Inc.