With a small media budget and distribution in less than 400 stores, it seemed as if Invo — an emerging brand — would have no chance to grow against the Goliaths in the coconut water wars. We needed to prove to consumers and retailers that Invo belonged on the shelf, by boldly challenging the stereotypes of the mainstream coconut water brands.
In our research, we noticed that popular brands like Vita Coco and Zico were romanticizing a fake paradise and perpetuating false images of female beauty. To stand out, we saw an opportunity to take a bold point of view on what the typical coconut water buyer looked like, and identified an audience that’s redefining what an “active” lifestyle means in the real world. They generally make healthy decisions — but aren’t afraid to admit that coconut water helps their hangovers, or that sometimes they ditch the gym in favor of brunch. We dubbed them “The Having-it-All-ish.”
This Summer, for Invo’s first major advertising campaign, we developed a punchy series of “chill truths” to challenge the illusions of fake paradise the category perpetuated. By not taking ourselves too seriously, we showed our Having-it-all-ish audience that imperfection is just more fun. Our tagline, “Keep it Chill,” served as a call to action to our audience about life, but was also a subtle nod that Invo is continuously chilled from bottle to shelf, never heated and never frozen.
To bring this idea to life, we leveraged social media, digital video, a new website, and out of home in key markets like San Francisco, Chicago, and Denver. In each market, we leveraged high-impact transit station takeovers to reach our target commuting in and around each city, but also to give major chain retailers confidence that Invo had strong marketing support. And it worked.