Increasing Brand Lift and Growing Market Share for BODYARMOR

BODYARMOR was a new entrant into a well-defined CPG category: sports energy drinks.  

With a product containing less than half the sugar in Gatorade, but only 2% of overall category market share, BODYARMOR was looking to disrupt the paradigm. 

16%
Lift in Brand Awareness

25M
Video Views in 2 Months

23%
Lift in Purchase Intent

The media challenge was to break through the clutter in a crowded space and ensure BODYARMOR’s message of superior hydration was reaching the most relevant audience – ultimately increasing awareness and market share.

Logistically, they secured significant investment with grocery store and gas station distribution networks. The brand also had endorsements across all major sports leagues, plus significant involvement from investor, Kobe Bryant. But, to increase market share and sales, they needed to establish brand awareness with the right customers.

We used industry research to select the optimal digital media channels, as well as our own planning and channel mix software, to develop the optimal “go-to-market” plan. Using BODYARMOR’s first-party data collected from web engagements and promotional eblast sign-ups, we created targeted media plans for key niche audiences and engaged media partners to further invest in BODYARMOR’s success and growth.

Our team performed look-alike modeling and statistical analysis to create microtargeted audiences, including: Blue Collar Workers, Grocery Gatekeepers, Veterans, Teenage Athletes, and Health-Focused Adults.

Each audience had its own media plan and messaging strategy, for example:

• The Blue Collar Worker audience focused on Midwestern and Southern states, Facebook and YouTube channels – using creative highlighting their partnership with NASCAR’s Ryan Blaney and UFC promotions. 
• The Teenage Athlete audience focused on Instagram and Snapchat and leveraged endorsements from the NBA’s James Harden and NFL’s Richard Sherman.

To maximize campaign efficacy, we enabled multiple layers of targeting. This included layering our media with the national distribution footprint, to ensure the campaign was reaching the right people at the right time in the right place. We customized sequential messaging based on customer engagement level and continually made real-time adjustments to optimize performance.

We also engaged our Google reps to ensure alignment and efficiency across the board. These partnerships allowed access to Google Beta products, as well as brand lift and purchase intent studies to evaluate campaign success.

By all measures, this campaign delivered superior performance. Aggressive optimization throughout the campaign resulted in 55% over-delivery and engagement rates much higher than initially outlined. Through Google Site Link extensions, we were able to drive and measure a significant amount of in-store sales volume. 

In year one, the audience-first strategy produced strong brand recall lift amongst four of the five target groups. In year two, the strategy shifted to only include the top four performing audience groups.

• The Blue Collar audience saw 22% brand lift and $840k in attributable sales.
• The Grocery Gatekeeper audience saw 14% brand lift and $376k in attributable sales.
• The Veteran audience saw 12% brand lift and $411k in attributable sales.
• The Teenage Athlete audience saw 14% brand lift, $154k in attributable sales.
• The Health Conscious Adult audience saw 2% brand lift, $214k in attributable sales.

More importantly, sales increased nearly 300% YoY, with 6% category market share; leading to the brand being acquired by Coca-Cola.