The Nutrabolt-owned C4 Smart Energy drink rebranded this week, armed with six new flavors, revamped packaging and an updated formula with new ingredients—including a plant-based caffeine source and citicoline, a supplement that promotes focus and attention—all to support its move into the “functional” energy drink category and brand repositioning as the “fuel” to achieve greatness. 

The launch kicked off with a brand experience for attendees and Austin residents at SXSW 2023 last month, which highlighted its "4 Moments Of" campaign and drove a sampling effort across the city. The latter was, and continues to be, an important part of the campaign, according to Robert Zajac, Chief Marketing Officer at Nutrabolt. And with SXSW being an engine for creative minds, it made sense to start there.

We talked through the launch strategy with Zajac, who joined the company in late 2022, as well as his overall growth strategy for Nutrabolt’s brands; the importance of establishing “clarity of proposition” within that process; lessons learned from previous roles at Abercrombie & Fitch, ESPN and Nike; how experiential factors into his growth strategy; and his approach to working with influencers and talent.

Meanwhile, the marketing industry and culture at large is adjusting to the sudden influx of large language model generative AI tools, like ChapGPT and Google’s Bard, that could potentially alter the way we work, perform and do business. But whether those changes are perceived as positive or negative depends on who you ask.

For instance, a group of more than 1,400 leaders in technology, academics and AI research signed an open letter this week that called for a pause in AI development until better safety standards and oversight are in place. But what of AI’s practical applications, and those for marketing purposes in particular? Here’s a more moderate point of view that supports practical uses for AI while simultaneously developing guidelines.

Speaking of AI in marketing… It’s the topic for CM’s latest Pulse Survey. We’d love to know whether you’re using generative AI tools for marketing purposes. And if so, are they working well for you? An infographic highlighting the results will follow.

Lastly, we look at the strategy behind a marketing bait-and-switch from adidas during the FIFA Men’s World Cup, in which the brand highlighted female athletes with a trio of 121-foot by 95-foot murals carved in sand.

Until next week,

Kaylee Hultgren
Editor
Chief Marketer

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