Tilda students campaign

POV: We’re in our ‘No hassle, just vibes’ era ✨

Prewarning that this news article will contain niche TikTok references and plenty of Gen Z jargon – no cap. (See… We did warn you!)

We’re thrilled to be working with Tilda once more on their latest campaign, focused on UK university students. 

Moving to university is a fun and exciting time for many students, but one of the main adjustments they have to make is planning and cooking meals for themselves for the first time. This can be a new, uncertain, and somewhat disconcerting experience – meal planning, shopping, learning, experimenting, cooking, and budgeting. We all remember the days of pesto pasta and instant noodles! 

And so Tilda reached out with a brief to create a socially-led, digital campaign targeting uni students aged 18-24, raising awareness and consideration of Tilda. With over 25 flavours, we worked with the brand to position their ready-to-heat rice pouches as quick and easy lunch or dinnertime solutions for our time-poor students. And so ‘No hassle, just vibes’ was born! 

In my ‘no hassle just vibes’ era leans into the ‘Era’ TikTok trend; a turn of phrase used to label current interests or priorities. Uni life is all-encompassing and students are often finding their feet and who they really are. Tilda unlocks a world of quick and easy flavour for students, so that they can spend less time at the stove and instead focus on the things that matter to them – whether that be lectures, the gym, or time with new friends! With Tilda, there’s no hassle, just vibes.  

Our brief was to create a socially-led campaign, and so our focus turned to TikTok – a hub of inspiration and information for our Gen Z audience. With 16,000 videos uploaded to the platform every minute, standout was a real focus for us. 

Research shows that TikTok users pay creator ads 39% more attention than they do traditional brand ads, and so we made the decision to partner with real university students to capture small video clips of what represents their ‘uni era’.  This way, we’re still conveying key brand messages, but done in a way that feels native and relatable to the audience, improving the overall effectiveness of the ads. That is what we call in business… A slay. ✨

With a library of footage to choose from, thanks to our uni students, we got to work knitting together these clips to create a series of TikToks, all housed underneath our ‘No hassle, just vibes’ era idea. Backed by the catchiest audio, these edits encapsulate everything it means to be a student – freedom and fun! It’s giving main character energy. 💅🏼

These TikTok ads go live during freshers week to sit alongside sampling events and OOH advertising for maximum impact. Come back in a few weeks time for the fire 🔥 results (sorry, we’ll stop now). 

Gen Z Glossary

No Cap
Conversely, “no cap” is used to indicate that someone is being truthful or sincere.

Slay
To do something exceptionally well, impress others, or to look and act in a confident, stylish, and remarkable way. 

Main Character Energy
Describes a self-confident, assertive, and charismatic attitude where a person lives their life as if they are the protagonist of their own story, prioritising personal fulfilment and growth.

Fire
Commonly used to describe when something is cool, awesome, or excellent.