Summary
For 20 years Mountain Dew had been talking about courage. It was time for the brand to walk it's talk and demonstrate courage in the face of some potentially fear-inducing questions: Do we eschew the many to build relevance with the few (urban India)? Do we move away from our hugely successful communication and embrace the new? Do we replace the unreal with the real? The brand decided to face its own fears on-ground!
Challenge
Mountain Dew's clear objective was to become the No 1 CSD brand in India by 2027, which implied a target CAGR of 20% for the next 5 years. In order to achieve that, the brand needed to boost its sales in urban, affluent, ‘consuming' India, because it was already a dominant force in hinterland India. The key ask for the brand therefore was how to strengthen the connect with urban India which was the category growth-driver, without diluting the pop-culture-worthy equity it already commanded in hinterland India. The campaign-specific objectives were as follows: 1. 20% increase in overall sales nationally in order to achieve our 2027 target of being the No 1 CSD brand in India 2. Increase sales in urban India by 30% (the growth percentage we targeted in urban India was 1.5X that of our national growth percentage) 3. Ensure that 45% of our total sales comes from urban India as opposed to the current 43%. What needs to be kept in mind here is that given our large volumes and our equity in hinterland India, moving the needle and shifting the urban-rural sales ratio was a considerable task in itself.
Objective
Fear is one of the top 3 reasons related to suicide in India. Anxiety disorders affect more than 18% of the population. 9 in 10 women hold themselves back from doing or saying something. In India extraordinary acts of courage are applauded by all. Sadly, the courage shown by ordinary people in overcoming everyday fears is rarely acknowledged. Mountain Dew, India's unofficial courage drink, decided to change this narrative with a courageous move by moving away from its two-decades-old winning communication formula. For 20 years, Mountain Dew communication featured celluloid heroes performing death-and-physics-defying stunts to bring alive the brand's ‘courage to win' credo. 57% of the brand's sales came from hinterland India. Which meant that the brand's overcoming-unreal-odds narrative was not resonating with urban India. But what next? The brand has always been talking about courage. It was time for the brand to walk it's talk and demonstrate courage. Mountain Dew wanted to strengthen its connect with the ‘consuming' urban India in order to propel this growth – a segment which contributed to 60% of the category consumption. Mountain Dew redefined heroism by embracing vulnerability in an authentic world, shifting from cinematic stunts to real-life stories of courage.
Strategy
We have always celebrated the cinematic heroic stunts in India, where the fear is defined big, big enough to fight back! What if the real stories of overcoming the actual fears faced by common man took the center stage? And that's what the team at Mountain Dew did! Moving away from the 20 years old communication, the gutsy brand turned the spotlight on the real people battling everyday fears. With India's first of its kind brand activation #ConquerWithCourage, the brand celebrated the ones who conquered their fears, be it the smallest or the biggest, because No fear is big or small, fear is simply fear! With a 25 ft holographic statue of the ones who shared their courage stories, the brand honoured the courageous ones. These massive statues created through Advanced Holographic Imaging technology became the symbol of courage and inspired many. The activity was strategically conducted in a mall in Delhi that attracted and encouraged youth to celebrate their personal stories of conquering fears. A global team of specialists having expertise in computer science, software engineering, electrical engineering, and visual effects was involved. The team also installed a #ConquerwithCourage wall that encouraged people to share their courage stories. The quick turnaround time of 30 seconds of hologram imaging enthralled everyone. Ranging from server backup, to backups of all equipment's that were imported from various parts of the world (Netherlands for holofilm, Canada for UFT lens). We were able to make the holographic statue live on the pedestal within click of a button as soon as the 360 shots were taken. The team worked tirelessly to create a state-of-the-art solution that produced real-time human monuments using hologram technology. It was challenging to create a user-friendly solution that allowed guests to receive their video in real-time once they had finished shooting.
Data
In the competitive Indian beverage market dominated by giants like Pepsi and Coke, Mountain Dew stands out as the country's third-largest carbonated soft drink (CSD) brand. Despite being neon-colored in a market of black, white, and orange, it has iconic status, symbolizing courage for over two decades. Its communication, featuring larger-than-life action heroes overcoming challenges, made it the top revenue contributor to PepsiCo India's CSD portfolio. However, a significant challenge arose: 57% of sales came from small towns and villages, while the urban audience, crucial for sustaining an aspirational brand, wasn't connecting with the brand's narrative. To address this, the #ConquerWithCourage campaign aimed to democratize courage in India, breaking records with 11 billion views, 65% of which came from urban India during the 20-week run. The campaign successfully shifted the narrative of courage from traditional heroes to a broader audience in the world's largest democracy.
Solution
Results
In a time-sensitive sprint, the team delivered a 30-second hologram experience, captivating audiences in a 16-day campaign that garnered 1,00,000+ walk-ins. Social media amplified the campaign, featuring a powerful motivational video with real stories of overcoming fears. OOH channels highlighted courage stories, while 900+ influencers shared their stories, and 5,000+ creators generated videos. Over 2.5 million user-generated content pieces emerged. 11 billion social media views, a 16% relevance score increase, 8.8 million online interactions, a 30% view-through-rate (VTR) double the industry average, and a 34% sales jump. Notably, 65% of the 11 billion views came from urban India. The motivational film alone secured 334 million views with a 30% VTR. The MOJ platform saw 8.8 million interactions. The PR coverage reached 20 million. Sales results surpassed expectations: a 34% year-over-year growth, 70% higher than the 20% national target. Urban India saw Mountain Dew sales surge by 59%, nearly double the targeted 30%. The 34% growth marked an 87% jump over the previous year, achieved with a 32% reduction in media spend ($2.6 million). Urban sales mix increased from 43% to 51%, surpassing the 2% target, resulting in a 300% rise. The urban:hinterland sales ratio improved from 43:57 to 51:49.
