TAPPING INTO THE TIPPING POINT WITH LIPTON ICE TEA

Short List
TitleTAPPING INTO THE TIPPING POINT WITH LIPTON ICE TEA
BrandUNILEVER
Product / ServiceLIPTON ICE TEA
CategoryE01. Use of Integrated Media
EntrantPHD Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation PHD Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Media Placement PHD Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Anneliese Douglass Unilever Australia Head of Media & PR ANZ
Tony Stein Unilever Marketing Director, RTD
Anna Alvir Unilever Marketing Manager, RTD
Lauren Nye Unilever Marketing Manager, RTD
Stewart Gurney PHD Media Chief Strategy Officer
Mitchell Long PHD Media Strategy Director
Kathryn Furnari PHD Media Group Business Director
Dixie Garcia PHD Media Planning Director
Elyse Foley PHD Media Business Director
Bill Luu PHD Media Group Trading Director
Jamie Nelson PHD Media Trading Director

The Campaign

We started with defining our target audience. Given the aggressive growth targets, we knew we had to be broad and talk to as many potential soft drink consumers as possible. We settled 18-49 year old soft drink consumers. Such a broad target wouldn’t help us stand out, so we turned to data. Using a combination of sales data, qual research and analytics we discovered a simple insight: There is a ‘Refreshment Tipping point.’ Interestingly, between 26°- 34° consumers’ drinking needs change and our tastebuds physically re-prioritise. We shun the sticky carbonated sweetness of Cola and look for still, more hydrating alternatives. In essence, we prioritise ‘refreshment’ over ‘taste.’ This presented the perfect opportunity for Lipton. Our strategy was to exploit this tipping point in media and use it as a way to convince Aussies to switch to Lipton Ice Tea.

Creative Execution

We flighted our TV and OOH activity to appear in weeks that historically hit our tipping point. We integrated Lipton’s brand assets into Summer’s hottest outdoor sporting environment - the “Big Bash” cricket. Billboards and TV spots were upweighted in the weeks where the Tipping Point was likely to be hit. We partnered with Storyful, who algorithmically identified trending user-generated content of people sharing elaborate and interesting ways to stay cool. We branded this content, and in a global media first, it was activated across YouTube and Snapchat when our refreshment tipping point was hit. Other digital ads were reactive – programmatically switching on whenever temperatures were high enough. A WeatherZone app integration allowed us to dynamically change each message based on the actual temperature of a given moment. Across a Sydney heatwave weekend, we created a real-time Snapchat lens that showed your face boiling hot and then cooling.

Our campaign surpassed all previous campaign benchmarks. Beyond reaching more than 95% of our target of Aussies aged 18-49, our media focus around the ‘refreshment tipping point’ significantly supercharged the effectiveness of our media. Our heat activated Snapchat filter was accessed more than 2 million times at a rate +61% above the national engagement benchmark. Leveraging user-generated Storyful activity increased our online video view rates +68% above benchmarks. But most importantly, we over delivered on our sales targets. Despite significant declines in the flavoured drink category across the summer, Lipton Ice Tea managed to buck the trend and saw a significant +19% increase in sales versus previous year. It’s important to note that while there were some small distribution increases, there was no new NPD and the promotional strategy was the same as 2015. Meaning the sales increase is directly attributable to our media strategy.

Lipton Ice Tea was facing a difficult 2016 Summer. The growth of the total liquid refreshment beverages category was slowing, and compared to major players like Coke and Pepsi, salience was low. Lipton overcame this by activating an entire advertising campaign around a single, powerful insight. We discovered a “Temperature Tipping Point” – the exact point at which people’s drink priorities changed from the sweetness of a soft drink to a more refreshing alternative (like iced tea). By ensuring that every message was delivered at this temperature tipping point, we bucked beverage category trends and increased Summer sales by 19%

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

We activated our insight in three ways. 1 - We needed to predict the heat. Using historical Beaureau of Meteorology data, we established the baseline Temperature tipping points for each major Australian city. This allowed us to ensure our high reaching media activity was flighted at the best and hottest possible times. 2 – It was important that we could react to the heat. After all, even the weather channel doesn’t get the prediction right every time. Media that could be more targeted was tied to a weather API, allowing ads to programmatically engage when our tipping point was hit, in real time. 3 – For long lasting salience, we wanted to ensure that hot days = Lipton Ice Tea. Driving implicit associations with heat via content was essential.

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