C4 Energy drink celebrates Starburst fusion with pop-up truck, digital content

Dive Brief:

Nutrabolt's C4 Energy drink brand has partnered with Mars Wrigley to launch four flavors inspired by Starburst candy, per a press release. The new strawberry, cherry, orange and lemon flavors will roll out before Halloween.
To promote the launch, C4 Energy tapped Instagram star Adam Waheed, WNBA player Te'a Cooper and "dancing weatherman" Nick Kosir as Flavor Expert Ambassadors. The brand will also introduce a Mobile Candy Flavor Shop that will pop up in Los Angeles in October. The truck will appear at ComplexCon in November, with other in-person activations planned for conventions in Chicago and New York.
In addition to the influencer partnerships and in-person activations, the drink brand will digitally release pop art-inspired visuals and anime-inspired content, encouraging fans to choose their favorite flavor. The launch comes amid several high-profile entrants in the energy drink space.

Dive Insight:

C4 Energy's collaboration with Starburst allows the challenger energy drink brand to tap into the fandom of the popular Mars Wrigley candy, and comes as CPG brands are partnering to move across categories and reach a broader array of consumers. For Starburst, the tie-up is a way to tap into adults' nostalgia for the candy brands they grew up with by bringing its popular flavors into a new category and follows a recent promotion around Self-Care Awareness month that also saw the brand extending its reach.

"Through this epic collaboration, you can be transported back to your childhood with the juicy Starburst candy flavor but can expect the explosive better-for-you energy that C4 is known for," Rajaa Grar, chief marketing and digital officer of Nutrabolt, said in the press release.

Key to C4 Energy's push are experiential activations that were popular ways to introduce new products before the pandemic scuttled many in-person activities. Even as the delta variant has surged, some marketers are getting back into experiential as consumers tire of virtual and at-home activations. The Mobile Candy Flavor Shop truck will be popping up around Los Angeles, giving the brand a chance to build viral buzz; activations at trade shows and conventions could do the same.

In addition to the in-person activations, C4 is utilizing influencers and digital content — tactics that have continued to see marketing investment as the shift to digital has been accelerated by the pandemic. As the holiday shopping season approaches, boosting confidence in influencer marketing could push it toward lower-funnel productivity.

Nutrabolt's Starburst-flavored C4 Energy drinks are launching in the wake of new category entrants from major CPG companies. In May, PepsiCo's Mtn Dew Rise Energy launched its first brand campaign, which featured LeBron James, while Rockstar introduced its first global marketing platform since getting acquired by PepsiCo. The energy drink category has seen robust growth this year, BevNet reported.