In a world where energy drinks are more prevalent than ever, brands are fighting to differentiate themselves from the competition. Guru successfully stands out because it is essentially the world’s first natural energy drink, opting for reliably sourced, plant-based active ingredients that come from nature.
The mandate
In 2021, facing a wide success in Canada, Guru decided to conquer the US market in California, one of the country’s largest consumers of organic products.
With the goal to raise Guru’s brand awareness, Made in implemented an influencer marketing campaign with an affiliate program to reach the hearts and minds of young Californians.
Photo credit: @kellycoghlinnHow to attract a new audience and launch its brand in a new market?
Recruit niche content creators, who pride themselves on creating lifestyle and outdoor content reflecting the brand’s messaging: Good energy, good vibes.
From epic surfers to skilled skaters, 9 content creators were recruited, ranging from micro to top accounts in order to build awareness and engagement. All with one similarity: outdoor lovers.
Each piece of content portrayed an outdoor activity while showcasing the brand’s four organic blends in a limited edition discovery pack. Stories engaged influencers’ communities and served as a teaser for the various discovery pack flavors. Short video content, including Reels and TikToks, was also a great way to put the product in context, and attract the users’ attention.
At the midpoint of the campaign, strategists at Made In recommended Guru to use some of the high and visually pleasing content as royalty-free assets for their social platforms. This campaign was particular as it was separated into two phases. Phase 1, focused on targeting grassroots content creators who have very niche audiences, whereas phase 2 targeted influencers with more notoriety, and thus, more followers. The mix of micro, mid, and top influencers helped the campaign achieve great visibility in terms of impressions and engagement.
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Comments generated under the influencers’ content showcased their community’s interest and willingness to try out the Guru products.
Overall, this campaign helped Guru achieve brand awareness in California by recruiting authentic content creators who made the brand reach more than 150K views and impressions. Let’s raise our glass (or Guru can!) to this very first and successful influencer campaign in the Californian market!
