Know your customers, not just their demographic data
Pivot: Schools to gaming.
Initially, MilkPEP and Gale worked off the assumption that schools are the ideal platform to reposition milk as a super drink. Schools have been providing milk to students for generations. As they tested their hypothesis in actual schools, they soon realized that they needed to meet their customers where they are in addition to where they’re most “engaged.” Gaming environments offered substantially more active engagement.
“I have a 16-year-old who I can say is much more engaged with the gaming space than they are with the cafeteria at their school,” Rani said.
In 2022, milk was a presenting sponsor at TwitchCon San Diego, giving them a preferred vantage point to reach tweens and teens. The move was also consistent with the brand repositioning. With the rise of esports, gaming and performance are intertwined.
Though milk’s brand marketing challenges are unique, lots of companies find themselves in a similar spot. The key, as MilkPEP and Gale discovered, is relentlessly focusing on results in the context of strategy. Reassess plans, learn from experiences and continually improve. Most of all, borrow liberally from the performance marketer’s playbook.