Dive Brief:
- Mike’s Hard Lemonade launched a new summer campaign, "The Brighter Times," to help people cope with news fatigue and remind them of the "joy-spreading potential" of good news, according to a news release.
- The campaign includes a partnership with The Washington Post’s creative agency WP BrandStudio and kicked off with a WashingtonPost.com S(ad) Blocker homepage takeover that "blocks" negative news and directs readers to positive stories. Mike’s and WP BrandStudio will also unveil an experiment using facial and emotional recognition software to uncover the impact of good news. They will leverage artificial intelligence at a pop-up experience in New York City in June.
- In North Platte, Nebraska, Mike's Hard Lemonade will interrupt local news programming with ad spots in the form of good news happening in the town. The brand is also installing bright yellow newsstands nationwide, which contain free newspapers with positive, smile-worthy stories curated with influencer Tank Sinatra of Tank’s Good News.
Dive Insight:
In its third year celebrating the slogan, "Drink on the bright side," Mike’s seeks to help consumers deal with the 24-hour news cycle by spreading good news and unveiling happy content with its multi-channel campaign using strong storytelling elements and technology like AI. Mike’s partnership with WP BrandStudio, local TV news takeover and newsstand activations also aim to support and highlight the value of the news media, which has come under attack from the Trump administration.
About seven in 10 Americans report having news fatigue, according to the Pew Research Center, and today's politically divisive climate will likely get worse as the 2020 election approaches. In response, several brands have unveiled kindness- and positivity-minded marketing.
The Mike's campaign follows a Southwest Airlines partnership with Netflix series "The Kindness Diaries," featuring a sweepstakes, custom on-board content and sharing heartfelt stories from travelers and employees. Unilever's Dove Men+Care attempted to bring fans together for March Madness through a partnership with designer Don C. on limited-edition jerseys celebrating college basketball rivalries.
Brands are intensifying their social impact efforts and taking a stance on important political and social issues, and consumers are responding positively. Many consumers let a brand's values and opinions about these causes drive their purchasing decisions. Marketers continue to look for ways to use societal controversy to drive consumer energy and capitalize on societys divisiveness to create value and disrupt markets, according to Forrester’s predictions for CMOs in 2019.
