Soda loyalty and retail trends 🥤

STARRY's impact on the soda space

The US soda market has long been dominated by a single brand, controlling nearly 50% of the soft drink industry. For any new brand entering the scene, breaking through is no easy feat.

STARRY is PepsiCo’s newest lemon-lime flavored soda, and it’s more than just a drink. With its vibrant appeal and delicious taste, PepsiCo aims to disrupt a category that has been ruled by one brand for far too long, giving Gen Z a better choice for lemon-lime soda.

STARRY speaks to a multicultural, digitally native generation that sees the world a little differently—but always with a refreshingly positive outlook.

To spread the word about STARRY, we began our partnership with PepsiCo in February 2024, armed with the tools to introduce Gen Z in the US to their new favorite drink through the power of influencer content. Throughout 2024 our always-on strategy has centered around TikTok – a hub for diverse, Gen Z communities.

We’ve kept our finger on the pulse, embedding STARRY into trends like "Staying True to the Delulu," where creators embrace a shared, lighthearted sense of delusion to escape everyday pressures by unwinding with a can of STARRY.

Now we’ve solidified brand awareness with micro-influencer partners – 125 in total since February 2024 – you can look forward to seeing some of your favorite macros shouting about STARRY very soon…

The Results

In the 15 months since its launch, STARRY generated 57.2B earned media impressions and achieved 47% brand awareness and 11% household penetration.

But STARRY shines with Gen Z, who spent a whopping 954,000 hours on STARRY social channels since launch and outperformed Gen Pop on key metrics such as preference. STARRY exceeded initial expectations and delivered $750MM in retail and food service sales in the first year alone.

Our partnership has driven:

• 25,300,000 blended impressions
• 7.79% engagement rate on TikTok
• 140 pieces of content
• 7 posts with 1m+ impressions

Preparing for shopping season 🛍️

Q4 is all about shopping! The holiday season is fast approaching, and consumers are set to start seeking hot holiday deals as early as Halloween. 

Last week we headed to Shoptalk Fall in Chigaco to immerse ourselves in the must-know retail trends and chat with brands about how Influencer Marketing can boost their strategies.

One of our stand-out sessions was hosted by RentTheRunway.com CEO and Co-Founder, Jennifer Hyman who focused on the importance of leadership lessons to set your brand up to win.

Here's what the session taught us:

• Stop and reset: Jennifer believes your job as an executive is to stop and look at the company with fresh eyes. Ask yourself “If I were starting the company from scratch today, is this what it would look like?”
• Embrace change: Rent the Runway shifted from clothing rentals to becoming a marketing discovery channel for brands, where 98% of users try new brands, and 80% later buy. Being open to change leads to breakthroughs: “50% of your ideas will fail, so test them faster and cheaper.”
• Hire a team you respect: Jennifer emphasized the importance of bringing in executives she admires. As a leader, focus on doing just this, and employ people who know more about their field of expertise than you do. 

Quick-fire insights 🧠

Adobe unveils holiday shopping insights 

Adobe has more light to shed on the hottest shopping trends for this season, signaling the impact that influencers will have on consumers. Their forecast data shows influencers are likely to convert shoppers 10x more effectively than organic social media overall, with 37% of Gen Z purchasing from influencer recommendations. 

Influencers (including affiliates and partners) hold a 17.2% share and are projected to grow by 7-10%, outpacing general social media traffic (nearly 5% share) which grows at 4-7%.

Paid search remains the leading driver of retail sales, contributing 28% of online revenue from January to September 2024.

Read more about influencers' impact on the shopping season here.

Visionary Voices 🗣️

In this episode of Visionary Voices, we’re shining a light on one of our own – Digital Voices’ Chief Client Officer, Georgia Goodwin. 

Georgia has made an unmatched impact on our agency by building and strengthening relationships with incredible brands, to nurturing a passionate and driven accounts and strategy team. Georgia has over a decade of experience connecting with brands on a personal and professional level, ensuring their growth and satisfaction is her primary focus.

In this episode, she shares:

• Her tips for breaking into marketing and why you don’t need a degree to succeed.
• The inspiration she draws from BMW’s marketing strategy and why they’re her dream client.
• Her vision for the future of Influencer Marketing, and how she helps brands connect directly with their perfect creator partners to reach their full potential.

The Industry 411 🗞️

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