Inspiration

RXBAR gets healthy boost from playful campaign

RXBAR paired great creative — and the perfect spokesperson, Ice-T — with Spotify’s dynamic ad formats to expand their audience and make clear that they are the “No B.S.” brand.

  • 243%

    Ad Recall

    243% lift in recall of RXBAR ads on Spotify compared to control
  • 42%

    Brand Awareness

    42% lift in awareness of RXBAR compared to control
  • 52%

    Message Association

    52% lift in association of “No B.S.” tagline with RXBAR compared to control

Brief:

RXBAR wanted to up their brand awareness among a broad swath of music fans and fitness enthusiasts.

Solution:

You know RXBAR — they’re the ones who list the clean and simple ingredients of their protein bars right on the front of their packaging. Transparency is a top priority for the brand, so they came to Spotify to develop a campaign that would increase brand awareness while staying true to that bold, irreverent spirit. And who better to play spokesperson for this “No B.S.” campaign than the straight-shooting, mean-mugging, O.G. himself: rapper and actor Ice-T.

That’s right! This campaign featured a series of clips that find Ice-T at peak self-awareness, saying stuff like, “Yep, it's one of those commercials where the rapper — you can't even remember his name — comes out and says somethin’ about an RXBAR.”

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RXBAR Gets Healthy Boost from Playful Campaign. Who better to play spokesperson for this “No B.S.” campaign than the straight-shooting, mean-mugging, O.G. himself: rapper and actor Ice-T.

The display ads maintained a similar tone, with copy like, “An RXBAR banner that you might click by mistake,” or “An RXBAR banner with a 0.3% click-through rate.” Fun fact: that ad actually wound up scoring a 0.3% CTR.

But CTR wasn’t the goal of this campaign — brand awareness and perception were, and RXBAR got the lift (in both metrics) they were looking for by using the full suite of Spotify’s display, audio, and video ad experiences. Their campaign incorporated Mobile and Desktop Overlay, Audio Everywhere, and Video Takeover to ensure general ubiquity; Sponsored Sessions to give fans an ad-free 30 minutes in exchange for watching a video (a.k.a Ice-T being hilarious); and a Homepage Takeover to provide a blast of B.S.-free messaging. They also sponsored one of Spotify’s top playlists, Backyard BBQ.

Along the way, RXBAR used Spotify’s streaming intelligence to target both fitness enthusiasts and commuters, and moments such as work, chill, and focus. That tactic was designed to drive home the idea that RXBARs aren’t just for health nuts — they’re also for people who are on the go, or a great staple for those at work or school. In the end, chill and focus moments accounted for 60% of engagements, and even individually outpaced workout moments — thus, RXBAR was able to connect with key audiences on Spotify as they streamed in contextually relevant moments.

Impact:

  • Thanks to their memorably candid creative, RXBAR saw a whopping 243% lift in recall of their ads on Spotify compared to a control audience.
  • RXBAR used Spotify’s streaming intelligence to reach new audiences and delivered a 42% lift in awareness of their brand compared to control.
  • By combining smart content with smart exposure, RXBAR drove a 52% lift in association of the “No B.S.” tagline with their brand name.
Formats: Sponsored Playlist, Overlay, Audio Everywhere, Sponsored Sessions, Video Takeover, Homepage Takeover, Leaderboard Market: U.S. Flight: August 2018 — December 2018 Source: Nielsen Brand Effect