Strategy March 13, 2019
Case Study: BAMKO's 'Swag Drop' Sweepstakes for Chobani Scores Big
Great engagement from audiences has the yogurt brand gearing up for a second campaign to keep promoting its new 'Gimmies' products for kids.
The Distributor: Los Angeles-based BAMKO (asi/131431), a Top 40 firm that ranks 25th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest distributors in the industry.
The Client: Chobani, the household name brand known especially for its non-GMO yogurts.
The Premise: Chobani was launching Chobani Gimmies, a new line of snacks for kids consisting of yogurt crunch, milkshakes, pouches, and lunchbox-length tubes. “They reached out to us to develop a multi-channel marketing campaign designed to introduce the product, create a buzz around the launch, generate website traffic, drive social media impressions among key influencers and, most importantly, create an emotional connection between kids and the brand,” said BAMKO President Phil Koosed.
The Solution: With Senior Account Executive Dana Sussman running point, BAMKO created 18 customized products from 10 different vendors. Items included skimboards, skateboards, hoodies, onsesies, beanies, necklaces, sleeping masks, T-shirts, earbuds, sleeping bags, jackets and more. Decorated with fun cartoon Gimmies characters designed to appeal to children, each product was limited-edition. Chobani was releasing new swag from the line in 14 planned daily launches between March 4th and March 17th. To score the branded goodies, folks needed to enter the swag drop sweepstakes online. Would-be participants were able to sign up daily to win the next offering of Gimmies gear. The ongoing nature of the initiative and the appeal of the branded merchandise helped generate substantial engagement.
The Challenges: A solution of this scale doesn’t just happen by itself. BAMKO had to orchestrate an ample team effort to pull off the necessary logistical coordination to get the required items made domestically and overseas – all in just a few weeks. “The team worked over Christmas, New Years and Chinese New Year,” said Koosed. “Our meticulous in-house compliance team also burned the midnight oil to ensure that every single product was compliant and safe for kids.”
The Reception: Off the charts. The swag proved so popular that mainstream media outlets like Adweek and Forbes wrote about it. Especially cool for BAMKO? Chobani was so impressed that it wants to do more merch. “On Day Two of the 14-day promotion, Chobani called to tell us that the program was already so successful that they’ve secured funding for an unplanned second round of the promotion,” said Koosed. “This is exactly what we’re talking about when we talk about thrilling our clients and using branded merchandise to create a special experience between brands and their customers.”
The Financials: The initial order tallied in the high five-figure range. The anticipated second round of Gimmies merch will drive the total well into six figures.
Broad View: The Chobani program is another high-profile win for BAMKO, which has recently developed lines for IHOP and reality TV star/accountability coach Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave.