Sparkling wine in a can

A 'better for you' energy drink

Lion, one of Australia’s leading beverage brands, was all set to launch their new Dare Sparkling Cold Brew Coffee. Sparkling cold brew coffee is trending across the US, with many consumers reaching for it as a “better for you” energy drink. Lion was confident the product would prove popular here in Australia, too. But first, they wanted to trial the product in Queensland to gather valuable consumer feedback to inform their go-to-market strategy. Brandcrush was tasked with sampling Dare Sparkling in Queensland. The campaign sought to target University students and, more broadly, people in the 18-34 age bracket, which is the key consumer identified by Lion’s prior research. Through the activations, the brand hoped to promote the new product while also gaining an insight into customers’ feedback by encouraging them to complete a feedback form online. Through Brandcrush, an in-store “pop up” activation was booked featuring chilled, branded assets at Culture Kings Brisbane & Culture Kings Pacific Fair. Two co-working locations in Brisbane were also booked to provide an afternoon pick-me-up for busy office workers. Unfortunately, when the activation occurred, COVID-19 was impacting Australians. The activation was scheduled for the first weekend of social distancing in, arguably, Australia's "ground zero" (Gold Coast). This had a sizeable impact on the activation, leading to decreased foot traffic in-store and low engagement. The lower consumer reach meant less product being sampled which caused an oversupply of stock at the activation locations. It quickly became apparent that we could only move half the expected stock through our activation. We had to quickly pivot to re-deploy the remaining stock — keeping it chilled — within the existing budget. This was done in a race against time before further behavioural shifts and consumer restrictions were brought in by the Government in response to the pandemic. Thanks to our existing network and newly created partnerships, we managed to deliver 10,000 units into apartments in residential towers, through rideshare vehicles and worthy community initiatives and charities. The result was truly a win/win/win for the brand, Activation Partners and consumers, generating great content and feedback for Dare Sparkling Cold Brew Coffee, and delighting consumers with delicious products to trial.

Product Sampling

Keeping bright minds and busy workers fuelled

Mr Lee’s Noodles, proudly founded by Damien Lee, are already known the world over for their delicious Vietnamese noodles. Unlike most other cup noodles, their ingredients are freeze-dried, not dehydrated. This locks in more of the flavour, nutrients and vitamins. They’re also gluten-free, msg-free and the Zen Garden Vegetable flavour is vegan — appealing to a growing number of consumers eating “free-from” diets. Available in two great flavours — Hong Kong Street Beef and Zen Garden Vegetables — Mr Lee’s were excited to now offer their healthier cup-of-noodles to Australian consumers through Harris Farm Markets, Woolworths, Amazon and their own website. To drive brand awareness and encourage consumers to try this new product, the brand needed a sampling campaign that would put them front and centre with their target audience of time-poor, modern workers and their families. Mr Lee’s identified that bringing their brand and product samples into co-working spaces would be an effective way to connect with their audience. Through Brandcrush, they were able to easily find and book their gift-sampling campaign into 25 unique co-working locations in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Over several days, the staff at each space actively gave out full-sized sample cup of Mr Lee’s Noodles to hungry, curious members, and self-serve product displays were set up with a strut card and flyers offering a limited time discount on purchasing the noodles from Woolworths. Members at the co-work spaces were encouraged to take a cup of Mr Lee’s Noodles home for their friends and family to try, too. The activation was a huge success. For a cost-per-reach of just $0.36, Mr Lee’s reached more than 20,000 potential new customers, building brand awareness and driving interest for the product. The campaign also gave the brand invaluable feedback directly from consumers, with each sampling location providing a detailed Activation Report complete with plenty of fun images for use on social media.

Counter Top

WeWork helps new wellness magazine connect with millennial women

WellBeing WILD is a fresh new health and lifestyle magazine from the Wellbeing team at Universal Media Co. The younger sister of WellBeing magazine, WILD is a journal for positive living. The magazine speaks to its audience with honesty and intention, tackling difficult topics like living with anxiety, working from home and gender expression – mixed up with travel, style and a bit of fun.  With the new publication set to hit the shelves here in Australia, the WILD team were looking to boost awareness ahead of the launch and get their first issue into the hands of their target market of wellness-focused millennial women. Using Brandcrush’s end-to-end booking platform, WILD booked a counter-top sampling activation campaign into 53 health and wellness centres, coworking spaces and AirBnBs across NSW, QLD and VIC. Each space received 10 copies of the magazine which were placed on coffee tables, reception desks and in waiting rooms and lunch areas. Customers and members at each location were invited to read the magazine and provide their feedback on the design, content and general appeal. The campaign reached more than 6,000 potential new readers of the magazine. Feedback from consumers was overwhelmingly positive, with people really appreciating the topics covered and the opportunity to discover the new magazine. Staff at the locations also loved the activation, commenting that the magazine was aesthetically pleasing and made a great addition to their space. The WILD team were thrilled with the feedback they received from consumers, and also loved the social media amplification from consumers posting pics of the mag. Each space also included amazing, insta-worthy pics in their campaign reports, which meant the brand had a wealth of great content for their own channels.