Dive Brief:
- Kraft Heinz brand Kool-Aid is collaborating with Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Jon on a new holiday song, "All I Really Want for Christmas," the brand announced via a press release provided to Marketing Dive.
- The Kool-Aid Man and Lil Jon star in a music video for the Christmas crossover track, where they crash a stranger's house party. The video is available on the rapper's YouTube channel, and was created by agency mcgarrybowen Chicago and directed by Brad Bischoff, Adweek reported.
- The song is available on music streaming platforms including Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, Google Play and others.
Dive Insight:
The Kool-Aid Man and Lil Jon are an unexpected yet well-paired match for a catchy Christmas crossover, with both having similar catchphrases — the rapper's "Yeah" and the mascot's "Oh yeah." The campaign is part of the beverage brand's efforts to reach younger consumers with a new "party anthem" around the holidays. The humorous video starring a classic brand mascot and modern rapper could garner attention and viral shares among younger consumers who either like the song or appreciate it ironically.
The video is Kool-Aid's latest attempt to reach younger consumers. To promote its new carbonated drink aimed at older kids and teens earlier this year, the brand launched a series of short videos featuring its carafe mascot in different situations as he hangs out with teens at malls, concerts and parks. The campaign also included special Snapchat lenses and filters featuring a digital animation of a dancing and bubbling Kool-Aid Man over real-life surroundings. By using Snapchat, the brand aimed to boost brand awareness among a younger audience that tends to be more active on the social platform.
Music videos and partnerships with musicians are marketing trends that more brands are embracing to attract social media attention, build a following and connect with consumers, which marketers hope will translate into sales. For example, Doritos' Blaze partnered with hip-hop artist Busta Rhymes on "Blaze the Beat," a platform for aspiring musicians that includes a competition to find new talent.
Videos, like the new Kool-Aid music spot, is the preferred, most memorable and engaging format for marketing communication among millennials, according to Brightcove research. Eighty-five percent of millennials say they've purchased a product after watching a video and also visited a brand's website or otherwise engaged with the brand, Brightcove found. Marketers are seeing the potential of video campaigns, as online video viewership is projected to exceed 200 million in 2018, Forrester estimates. Video ad spend is expected to rise from $91 billion in 2018 to $103 billion by 2023, when then total share of video ad spending will account for 34%.
