BRAND STRATEGY If there’s one thing Erewhon is known for, it’s a spendy smoothie. The California-based gourmet grocery store’s drink collabs began in 2021 with influencers like Christina Najjar, who is known online as Tinx, and Marianna Hewitt, co-founder of skin-care brand Summer Fridays. But it was Hailey Bieber who really kickstarted Erewhon’s celeb smoothie craze with a co-branded Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie that promoted the launch of Rhode Skin in 2022. At one point, Erewhon was reportedly selling more than 40,000 of Bieber’s smoothies every month; in October, it sold out of a $100 DIY kit to make it at home. In recent years, well-known figures like Sabrina Carpenter, Sofia Richie Grainge, Olivia Rodrigo, Bella Hadid, and Emma Chamberlain have followed suit, stamping their names (and in some cases, brands) on Erewhon drinks. The virality has not gone unnoticed by other brands: Each celebrity smoothie recipe has up to five that pay to be included in the ingredient list, Vito Antoci, EVP at Erewhon, told us. Other brands, like Salt & Stone, Vacation sunscreen, and Frankies Bikinis, have opted to create and, Antoci said, fully fund their own drinks, ranging from smoothies to elixirs, with the status-symbol grocer. Those drinks are part of Erewhon’s membership program, where about 60,000 people pay up to $200 per year to get perks that include a free branded drink each month and quarter. The branded drinks (of which there are, according to Antoci, 16 every year) are also available to paying nonmembers. The goal from Erewhon’s side, Antoci said, is to “provide customers a sense of community around health and wellness.” For brand partners, the benefits can include everything from boosting brand awareness to building community in the LA market and beyond. Continue reading here.—KH | | |
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SPORTS MARKETING In its more than 40 years of business, Callaway Golf has never run a brand marketing campaign. But with golf’s popularity on the rise, the equipment company didn’t want to miss its chance to swing at potential new consumers while also solidifying its identity with experienced players. “We don’t think golf should be something that’s a punishment,” Gordon Gray, director of marketing for Callaway, told Marketing Brew. “We want people to get out there and want to go and play…So our audience can encompass, and therefore bridge, those beginners, all the way through to quasi-Tour players.” It’s a line that many companies in the golf space have toed in recent years as the sport’s public image has shifted from the country clubs of Caddyshack to a less buttoned-up Happy Gilmore vibe. In other words, golf is changing, and even its endemic brands are adjusting their strategies along with it. In Callaway’s case, that means articulating the company’s messaging and persona in a brand campaign called “Nothing Beats This,” which Gray said will ideally take the brand out of the “friendzone” for a range of golfers. Read more here.—AM | | |
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DATA & TECH It’s not really peak college basketball season until March, but winter is coming, and marketers might be thinking about their NIL portfolios in the winter sports space sooner rather than later. Basketball players dominated the NIL platform Out2Win’s list of the top 50 most marketable college athletes in winter sports, with UConn’s Azzi Fudd at No. 1. Though the majority of the players hail from the court, there are also several from sports like gymnastics, swimming and diving, and ice hockey. To determine athlete marketability, Out2Win uses an algorithm that evaluates athletes based on “social influence,” “past partnership performance,” and “growth potential.” The champs: Fudd, star guard for the reigning women’s NCAA basketball champs, scored a 99 out of 100 possible points, four points higher than Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, who topped Out2Win’s list of most marketable fall athletes. Fudd’s brand partners include Celsius and Stephen Curry’s SC30, and she has an engagement rate of more than 15% across Instagram and TikTok, per Out2Win. Fellow UConn guard KK Arnold is also in the top 10 at No. 9, with an engagement rate of almost 23%. Arnold has worked with brands including Powerade, Intuit TurboTax, and Raising Cane’s. Morgan Cheli, another UConn guard, came in at No. 30, with a 33% engagement rate. Continue reading here.—AM | | |
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WISH WE WROTE THIS Stories we’re jealous of. - Bloomberg wrote about Target’s efforts to turn its brand image around following disappointing earnings and prolonged political backlash.
- The Wall Street Journal wrote about the anger many American consumers are feeling over poor customer service.
- CNBC wrote about the “denim war” between Levi’s, Gap, and American Eagle, as each brand seems intent on one-upping the others when it comes to celebrity spokespeople.
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