Arnold Palmer is a golfing legend (who went to Wake Forest, btw!). Spiked seltzers were a skyrocketing trend in 2016 (they had been around for a while but took off in the few years before Covid).
Between 2016-2018 tons of spiked seltzers were hitting the market vying for space on shelves and desperately trying to gain "share of stomach". Brands were (and still are) competing for attention. Devika Bulchandani, Ogilvy's Global CEO put it perfectly, brands still need "differentiation and hyper relevance".
Our Arnold Palmer Spiked team struck the perfect balance by invoking nostalgia with a hot trend to catch the attention of people across generations. People over 30 (and golf fans) recognized the name and knew the classic tea and lemonade combination that makes up an Arnold Palmer, while the younger ground loved the idea of a spiked iced tea lemonade flavor that actually tasted good.
Through local activations and a concentration on eastern and southern retailers, we were able to grow the brand's presence within its first two years. The connection with Arnold Palmer allowed us to tap into relationships in Pennsylvania and North Carolina (the state where he was from and the state he went to college, respectively). While the flavor profile played wonderfully in the southern states with hotter climates.
This beautiful combination did not happen by accident. This drink went through significant R&D to perfect the flavor and required close collaboration between the Arnold Palmer brand team and our MillerCoors Flavored Malt Beverage team. It went through rigorous consumer testing for taste and messaging and the ultimate product was backed by research, data, and loyalty.
While this brand had significant resources behind it, you don't need the R&D behemoth of MillerCoors to be able to use the same principles. If you want to bring a product into the world but are not sure if people will be interested, do your research! Find an audience that cares deeply about something and build a product for them that taps into that care. If you take a bit of time to brainstorm, you can link that care with a current trend and voila!
If you have a product you are looking to bring to market and need help with the marketing work surrounding a product launch, let's talk!
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