Context:

Over the past couple of decades, declines in milk consumption in California have been outpacing the rest of the US due to a number of cultural factors, including dietary trends unfavorable to dairy. However, as a brand with global recognition and a connection to pop-culture, we had a tool in “got milk?” that if leveraged properly, we believed could help turn the tide for real milk in California.  

Insight:

"Real Me. Better Life.” 

In 2022, on the tail end of the pandemic, people were shaking off the shackles of canceled culture in CA and returning to what felt right for them. Conformity be damned, 2022 saw the rise in social media/culture being swamped with posts, music, and videos about “keeping it real.” Cultural momentum was shifting from a filtered world to one where quirks, idiosyncrasies, and differences were being celebrated for their individuality and the freedom that comes with being the real you. And in representing the only “real” milk, got milk? would become a champion for this.  

Strategy:

Get: Diverse Californians who are exhausted by cancel culture 

To: Experience drinking REAL milk as a badge for authenticity

By: Showing the choice of REAL milk as a window to a more real (and better) world full of honesty and unsaid truths 

Measurement:

Beyond the blunt instrument of total sales, we developed a "Love Meter" segmentation and conversion model to better measure the impact of our marketing efforts on our audience. This model defines, quantifies, and tracks shifts in attitudes—from Lovers to Haters, with three nuanced segments in between. Conducted nationally, our research allowed us to assess differences and trends between California and non-California audiences. By using recontact surveys in MRI/Simmons, we could determine whether (and how) our marketing efforts were influencing movement along the meter.

Idea:

To pull our audience through the full funnel, we began an awareness campaign that stretched across paid media (CTV, OOH, online, social, search) in English and in Spanish. In this effort, we partnered with crossover star Diego Boneta, who starred in our launch video and in social content, and also championed a PR campaign that garnered tremendous buzz in English and in Spanish language media. 

The campaign extended into social and influencer marketing, where we partnered with Asian influencer My Nguyen (4.2M followers) and Black TikTok influencer Pame (500K followers) to create specific content for the campaign and along with 150+ CA micro influencers. To accompany this boost in social content, we built a tool to scrape the social landscape to quantify, curate, and amplify REAL conversations happening across the state. We then proceeded to rank the “realest” cities across California with an interactive map, showcasing social content from around the state, all available on gotmilk.com.  

Results:

This campaign achieved tremendous ROI, including 2.1 billion earned media impressions (Spanish and English), +89% Social Engagement YOY, and +84% Positive Sentiment YOY.

But more significantly, this campaign also exceeded our client’s business goal. For the past several years, our goal has been to “close the consumption gap” between California and the rest of the U.S. And while we’d been narrowing the gap in recent years, given the cultural pressures against dairy in California, we had not been able to close that gap with the total U.S. This year with “Get Real,” that changed and California consumption outpaced the rest of the U.S by +.7%.  

Creative: