When it comes to cold, thirst-quenching refreshment during the hot summer months, you can’t do much better than coconut water. That’s why coconut water giant Vita Coco spends 90% of its media budget in the summertime. One of the cornerstones of Vita Coco’s media mix is out-of-home, which promotes its messaging through billboards and murals. For its latest summer campaign promoting their new product, Vita Coco Pressed, the beverage brand wanted to bridge the gap between its out-of-home advertising and its digital media, synergizing these two key elements of the brand’s media mix and making both work harder.
The Vita Coco marketing team turned to Waze as the solution for this ambitious goal. The team wanted to use Waze Takeover ads as an unexpected “call to action” that would pop up after a Wazer drove past a Vita Coco billboard, letting them know that Vita Coco points of sale are nearby. This strategy would not only strengthen the reach of its out-of-home marketing but also help the team better measure the impact that its out-of-home content is having in terms of driving sales.
Broadening an out-of-home campaign
For its annual summertime campaign, Vita Coco had invested heavily in engaging out-of-home advertising. Its team wanted to use Waze to extend the reach of this out-of-home marketing, while also better measuring the impact of out-of-home on sales.
Reaching the whole funnel
Vita Coco wanted to use Waze to educate Wazers about Vita Coco Pressed and nudge them towards a purchase. This post-billboard “call to action” took the form of a “Drive There” Takeover ad, which popped up when a user arrived at a red light after passing a billboard. Just like how Vita Coco’s billboards say their coconut water is “Impossible to hate,” the Drive There CTA in Waze explains how avoiding traffic with Waze is similarly “Impossible to hate.” This kept the billboard messaging and Waze Ads messaging consistent and synergistic.
Then to make it easier for Wazers to make a purchase, Vita Coco used Pins to place small coconut icons on the Waze map, indicating Vita Coco points of sale. Overall, the campaign on Waze balanced upper funnel awareness for the new Vita Coco Pressed with a lower funnel push towards a purchase.
The team at Waze understands our business and our needs in a way that a lot of partners don't. Getting this campaign up and running was a very collaborative experience — almost consultative in a way. So it's nice that that sort of expertise also has the ability to deliver on the media, as well. Brittany Harshbarger, Senior Media Manager, Vita Coco
Sharing the taste of Vita Coco
The results of Vita Coco’s partnership with Waze were impossible to hate. According to IRI, Vita Coco saw an 8% uplift in sales in the Convenience Store channel as a result of this campaign, which was above benchmarks. This not only helped increase sales but also provided crucial value to Vita Coco’s retail partners in major markets.
Vita Coco was also able to measure the impact of out-of-home marketing more effectively, which has been an ongoing challenge. With insights from Waze, Vita Coco’s team was better able to understand the impact of its whole media mix on sales — giving team members the actionable data they need to continue spreading the word about their uniquely refreshing product.
