Dive Brief: 

• Olipop unveiled its summer campaign, which includes a nostalgia-themed travel experience and influencer-style PR boxes targeted at everyday consumers, per details shared with Marketing Dive. 
• The Time Travel Travel Agency activation transforms the Austin Motel in Austin, Texas, to create three suites that bring Olipop flavors to life through the lens of different decades. Consumers can enter to win a stay at the location by calling an official hotline. 
• The better-for-you soda brand also partnered with Amazon Ads to drop 5,000 exclusive VIP boxes for 5 cents each on Amazon starting June 30. Each box includes seasonal Olipop flavors and branded merchandise, aiming to flip the typical influencer marketing script.

Dive Insight:

Olipop is turning everyday consumers into influencers with the chance to score a soda-themed trip or one of 5,000 PR boxes. The seasonal campaign arrives as the better-for-you soda wars intensify. PepsiCo in March announced plans to purchase prebiotic soda brand Poppi for nearly $2 billion while Coca-Cola recently introduced its first entry into the category, called Simply Pop. 

Olipop, which touts high fiber and between 2-5 grams of sugar per can, was valued at $1.85 billion after its latest funding round and is the top non-alcoholic brand in the U.S. by dollar sales and unit growth, according to the company. The brand was founded in 2018 and is privately held.

At the center of the marketer’s summer campaign is the Time Travel Travel Agency experience that includes a renovation of the Austin Motel to feature three nostalgic suites inspired by different Olipop flavors. The first is a 1986 Cream Soda Suite packed with ‘80s decor, including pastel stripes and retro arcade nods. A second room, the 1995 Strawberry Vanilla Suite, embraces the era’s maximalism with all-pink styling. Finally, a 2002 Cherry Cola Suite is billed as a cherry-red Y2K dream meant to remind guests of flip phones and boy bands.

The nostalgic approach could help Olipop grow loyalty and attract a wider audience, including those who have an allegiance to a particular decade. From June 24 to July 8, consumers can enter for the chance to win a four-day, three-night stay at one of the suites by calling an official hotline number at 1-844-2-OLIPOP. Entrants will then receive a text message with a link directing them to an online form. Three winners will be notified July 9 and permitted to bring one guest for an all-expenses-paid trip, inclusive of flights, hotel bookings and meals. 

The Austin Motel experience was designed and produced by creative partner Callen. In addition, Olipop teamed with Amazon Ads to drop 5,000 exclusive VIP boxes on the e-commerce platform for 5 cents each. The boxes, intended to replicate influencer unboxing experiences, feature an Olipop-branded puffer tote; a trio of Olipop flavors, including Cherry Cola, Strawberry Vanilla and Cream Soda; a mini, retro-inspired wireless speaker; and an “Olipopsicle” mold for turning the soda into frozen treats. 

A focus on everyday consumers sees Olipop turning the traditional influencer model on its head in a way that could help it form more authentic connections while boosting social media chatter. The concept reads as a dig at chief rival Poppi, which drew backlash for a Super Bowl effort earlier this year that sent branded vending machines to popular creators. Some critics argued that the brand could have given the pricey machines to people more in need, such as nurses, hospital workers and teachers. 

This isn’t Olipop’s first time making a sly dig at a competitor. In September, the brand took aim at Mountain Dew with a campaign supporting its similarly themed Ridge Rush flavor.