Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Zoa brand signs college athletes for NIL marketing

Dive Brief:

Zoa Energy, an energy drink company co-founded by actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, introduced a name, image and likeness (NIL) program featuring top college athletes, according to a press release.
“The Rock’s Warriors” features seven college athletes from across the country who will help lead Zoa’s marketing program by creating content for social media. Additionally, the athletes will support national and regional partnerships, along with philanthropic endeavors.
The NIL program comes shortly after the energy drink unveiled a major new campaign and rebrand featuring brighter colors and a smaller can.

Dive Insight:

Zoa has recently been making an effort to broaden its appeal outside of the gym. The NIL push comes off the heels of its “Fuel Something Bigger” campaign, with “The Rock’s Warriors” a play on the “everyday warriors” who were at the center of that earlier effort. Partnering with seven college athletes to create a robust collegiate presence could help the brand expand its presence across sports.

Since 2021, when college athletes were first allowed to earn money off their name, image and likeness, NIL marketing has grown significantly and continues to evolve.

The athletes included in Zoa’s campaign, which marks the first NIL campaign for the brand, are Angel Reese, who plays basketball for Louisiana State University, Hansel Enmanuel, who plays basketball for Austin Peay State University, Brock Bowers, who plays football for the University of Georgia, Marvin Harrison Jr., who plays football at Ohio State University, Drake Maye, a football player for the University of North Carolina, Kam Kinchens, who plays football at the University of Miami, and Amaya Gainer, a softball player for Florida A&M.

The NIL push builds on a recent brand refresh that saw the brand turn to a brighter color palette, along with shrinking its can size from 16 ounces to 12 ounces. The “Fuel Something Bigger” campaign also saw the brand release an advertisement not featuring Johnson. “The Rock’s Warriors” further associates the brand with the actor. Zoa is the fastest energy drink to reach $100 million in sales, per release details, and Molson Coors operates as a distributor partner for the brand.