ZOA aims for gains with fresh look and new marketing platform

From MolsonCoors & Alex Parker:

When ZOA launched in 2021, it entered a crowded energy-drink field worth $14 billion.

The brand has enjoyed the ride, picking up its fair share of the market, which is now valued at more than $19 billion, and setting revenue records along the way. Now, with its lineup of colorful 12-ounce slim cans turning heads, ZOA is looking to build on its success with a new marketing platform called “Fuel Something Bigger” that highlights everyday people.

The platform, says Matt Stallman, senior portfolio manager for non-alcohol brands, is core to the brand’s identity.

“We’re moving out of the gym and into the kitchen, the office and the recording studio,” he says.

This summer’s program includes new creative that will air across major streaming and digital channels, live reads on popular podcasts, updated retail tools, and sampling events and a bus tour that will hit five core cities: Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Orlando and Seattle.

ZOA "The Chase" (15-sec) from Molson Coors on Vimeo.

The new spots are ZOA’s first since it debuted a commercial last winter starring ZOA co-founder and movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and are part of a broader pivot for the brand as it moves away from black 16-ounce cans to a brighter, more gender-neutral identity. The ads feature regular people – such as a rock climber, an architect, a chef – sipping ZOA while achieving their goals: reaching the top of a rock wall, focusing on a project and relaxing after a long day in a food truck.

“ZOA’s an energy drink for every occasion and for every type of person,” Stallman says. “We want people to see themselves in ZOA and all the energy-drink occasions, whether it’s your morning commute, your afternoon pick-me-up or something else.”

As the brand celebrates what it calls “everyday warriors,” it’s embarking on a nationwide bus tour with famed triathlete Raymond Braun, who will interview people – in a content studio inside the bus – about how they embody the everyday warrior spirit. People can also share their own stories about what makes them an everyday warrior in their lives and local communities at stops throughout the tour.

And Johnson will continue to be ZOA’s most vocal – and visible – supporter. In addition to showcasing the brand to his millions of social media followers, he’s recorded an in-store voiceover for a major gas station chain in the Midwest. Since that campaign launched early last month, ZOA has risen to become a top-three energy drink at the chain, according to sales data analyzed by Molson Coors.

While Johnson’s star power is undeniable, Stallman says ZOA is standing on its own, especially in stores where it’s on display and easy for consumers to find. One Colorado grocery chain, for instance, saw sales of ZOA more than triple after it put it on display, while a major big-box chain store in California observed sales grow 15-fold after building a stack of ZOA on the floor, sales data analyzed by Molson Coors show.

“We know these shoppers are already there, looking for brands like ZOA, and we’re finding ways to stop them in their tracks,” says Stallman. “The new packaging is stunning and when you get an array of singles together on display, they’re going to move. We see that in the numbers.”