To build on momentum it saw in 2023, Zoa Energy last month launched "Big Dwayne Energy," a campaign that ties together the brand's value proposition, biggest brand ambassador and an enduring meme (or two).

In a humorous video set to Latto's hit song "Big Energy," Zoa co-founder Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson shows off the power of the energy drink as he transforms into an aerial acrobat, a busy work-from-home mom and a surgeon before confronting a version of himself styled to resemble how he looks wearing a turtleneck and fanny pack in a viral photo.

Along with the minute-plus video, the campaign includes digital, out-of-home, paid social and shopper marketing, along with a partnership with the forthcoming United Football League, influencer programming, social contests, seasonal promotions and experiential pop-ups. The effort was developed by Haygarth USA.

Zoa Energy CMO Melanie Hellenga spoke with Marketing Dive about the many opportunities the brand's resident pop-culture icon provides, how the brand is looking to break through in a cluttered market and how investment from Molson Coors — expected to help Zoa more than double its investment in media spend this year — is paying off.

MARKETING DIVE: What was the strategy behind the "Big Dwayne Energy" campaign?

MELANIE HELLENGA: The category is super clustered: it's rapidly growing and there are a lot of players in the game. If you look at all the celebrities that are out there, with the Logan Pauls and Kim Kardashians of the world, we have the biggest celebrity on our hands in Dwayne Johnson. 

We really wanted to leverage him in an authentic way that's true to the brand and what Zoa stands for. The campaign was a simple idea around when you drink Zoa, it has great taste, zero sugar, B and C vitamins and electrolytes for "Big Dwayne Energy." You can get Big Dwayne's energy by drinking Zoa, and who doesn't want Dwayne Johnson's energy? 

That was the strategy behind it: something bold and disruptive, that would really put this brand on the map. BDE is very culturally relevant right now, so how do we tap into culture and what consumers are doing and make it our own? 

What does having Johnson as a co-founder do for the brand's advertising?

HELLENGA: He was very hands-on with the campaign development because it was really important to him that we were on-brand, but it was also authentic to who he is and his celebrity. It was great to work with him and really co-create this campaign — he knows what his fans like. He knows what resonates with them and he knows the DNA of the brand in and out because he's one of the founders, and so he really brings it to the next level. He has 550 million followers plus so it's an opportunity for him to get engaged and promote it in a way that allows us earned media that we don't have to pay for, which is great.

Outside of ads, what opportunities does Johnson bring to the table as a brand ambassador?

HELLENGA: When [Johnson] is out there doing his thing, he knows his audience and he knows the place for the brand. This is one of his products and that's where it gets his energy, so when he needs his energy, he always has his Zoa on hand. You'll see him on College GameDay or WWE or at the UFL, Zoa is his go-to energy drink. Where it makes sense when he has it, that's where we get the pickup. It's really natural, it's his everyday behavior.

How does the campaign continue to build on last year's brand refresh?

HELLENGA: We launched the “Fuel Something Bigger” campaign last year when we did that brand overhaul with a packaging update and all of that, really directing consumers to reach their full potential to grow and inspire others. It was true to why the brand was developed, and we felt that given the growth and our evolution, we needed to do something bold and disruptive to just break through the category and really draw consumers to the brand in a big way. This is the year we're going all in: We're investing in media, we're getting it out there and we really want to bring consumers into Zoa.

We really pride ourselves on being the most approachable, functionally balanced energy drink out there for our diverse community. The one thing consumers say when they drink the product is, 'Wow, this tastes amazing.' We're bringing new consumers into the category. For us, it's really about leaning into better-for-you and all of the benefits of our product in a way that differentiates against the category.

How has the Molson Coors partnership helped Zoa?

HELLENGA: The investment definitely helps us with media and being able to spend more money behind the brand and get that exposure, but also the distribution piece of it helps. The goal for us as a brand is to drive awareness and scale distribution at the same time, and that's really how we're going to scale and win in this category this year. 

Speaking of media, we've seen marketing's pendulum swing back to brand building after years of performance marketing. How do you approach the two types of spend?

HELLENGA: For me, it is the balance. I've seen people go to just the brand awareness piece, but you can't do just brand awareness without the performance or vice versa — you really have to make sure that the full funnel is working together, and that you're following the consumer in their media consumption journey. For us, it's really about getting the brand out there, and then when we're seeing signs of engagement from our consumers, we're bringing them through the funnel and into loyalty. Performance and awareness-driving media work hand-in-hand to really drive the conversions we want at the end of the day.