Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar ‘Here To Hydrate’ campaign in June was informed by a brand backed scientific white paper and pilot study aimed to helping the UK stay hydrated.
The Suntory owned, British energy drink brand team worked with an Oxford University experimental psychologist on an initiative to create ‘hydration guidelines’ for marketing primarily aimed at helping remind consumers to hydrate and these were used to provide a framework for a summer campaign spanning ad executions and social content.
The campaign background lay in a scientific white paper by Professor Charles Spence which explored the impact of different types of sensory stimulation on making people more aware of their hydration requirements and these findings formed a set of brand ‘hydration guidelines’ spanning produce development, bottle design and advertising.
This resulted in a launch campaign for the new Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar produce, created by agency adam&eveDDB, which marked the first time the guidelines were applied in a marketing initiative.
Led by a hero commercial and supported by social content and PR, specific sensory cues were incorporated into the creative to remind viewers to hydrate: for example, the creative featured ‘transparent and flowing’ rather than ‘static’ liquid, while bottles were positioned to feel ‘grabbable’ and the work was set to a specially designed soundscape.
The anchor ‘New Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar – Here To Hydrate’ spot dropped from 14 June.
The background to the campaign began with a white paper’s theoretical findings which were then put the test by the brand in a self-described ‘first-of-its-kind’ study designed to ‘prompt participants to recognise and quench their thirst through the identified cues’.
This preliminary study analysed the participants hydration habits during two sets of yoga classes: one primed with ‘visual thirst’ prompts and the other an ordinary yoga session. In the ‘controlled’ class, attendees were exposed to ‘visual thirst’ prompts such as warm colours and thirst-inducing images like pouring water or a desert. The pilot found that participants in the class with sensory clues drank on average 80% more liquid.
Thus highlighting the need for more cues in daily life to remind people to hydrate: particularly in exercise settings, where 32% of participants are technically dehydrated before starting a work out.
“Studies show that many of us are living in a state of under-hydration, and that this can have a deleterious effect on both our mental and physical performance,” commented Oxford University Experimental Psychologist Professor Charles Spence. “The white paper and initial study suggest that ‘visual thirst’ is real and people can be prompted to drink via visual and audible cues. It’s the first time a brand has created a set of ‘hydration guidelines’ to help serve the product’s purpose, and it’s fitting that Lucozade Sport have done so, given their long history in hydration.”
Lucozade Sport Sports Scientist Katherine Shaw added: “We know that more and more people are living an active lifestyle and hydration is essential to keep the brain and body at its best. Working with Professor Spence has enabled us to create a campaign based on new scientific principles for Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar, which is like no other. Science and research have guided our ads to help our consumers as much as our products do. The new Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar product is a zero sugar fitness drink that contains Vitamin B3 to help reduce tiredness, electrolyte and great flavours to help our athletes and consumers stay hydrated. We can’t wait for more people to try it.”
adam&eveDDB Creative Director Christian Sewell commented: “We’ve launched Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar with a campaign that’s fittingly big on hydration. Using insights from the pilot study to apply visual and audio cues will help remind everyone of the thirst-quenching taste that the sports drink provides.”
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According to the brand, Lucozade Sport has a strong heritage in sports science and has conducting more than 170 studies into the benefits of carbohydrate-electrolyte solutions on sports performance.
This latest wave of work with Professor Spence sees the brand develop ‘hydration guidelines’ which will act a set of universal key principles which will be applied to all the brand’s visual content: from its own ad campaigns, social media content and its work with sports team partners such as the England men and women’s national football teams.
The product featured in the first campaign released under this new approach, Lucozade Sport Zero Sugar, is the latest addition to the brand’s sports drink range.
This campaign follows on from the brand’s January 2023 ‘Get Moving: Statues’ campaign.
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