Coca-Cola's Zico Coconut Water Taps David & Goliath

Coca-Cola's Zico brand has named David&Goliath its new agency after a review. The move comes after the brand began a campaign in May by Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners called "Crack Life Open," which featured actress Jessica Alba and spanned print, out-of-home and digital advertising. David&Goliath is expected to start the next iteration of that campaign in the second quarter. "As coconut water becomes more of an established category, it's critical for Zico to move beyond awareness building and start telling a stronger brand story," said Lorna Peters, Zico's Chief Marketing Officer, in a statement. "We brought on David&Goliath to help us take Zico's Crack Life Open campaign to the next level with a sound strategy and disruptive, creative ideas. Beyond their capabilities, we love that D&G shares our passion to do good work and hunger to win." The new agency comes as the coconut-water category continues to grow. Research firm Mintel in a report said that the category growth was a "tropical storm." Vita Coco last fall tapped Saatchi & Saatchi as its first agency, with a campaign expected to launch by spring this year. Zico had $86.7 million in sales in 2013 according to Euromonitor. PepsiCo-owned O.N.E. coconut water had sales of $40.4 million in 2013, according to Euromonitor. Vita Coco's sales far surpassed those brands, with sales of $267.5 million in 2013, according to Euromonitor International. It's not clear how much Zico will increase its ad spending, and up until now it's been a small spender, with about $1 million on U.S. measured media in 2013, the last full year of available data, according to Kantar Media. Zico was launched in 2004, originally positioned as a sports beverage. In 2012, it became majority-owned by Coca-Cola Co., and nowadays, beyond the original flavor, Zico is also available in chocolate, pineapple, mango and passion fruit. For David&Goliath, the win comes just after the agency made a place for itself on the Jack in the Box roster.

Coca-Cola's Zico Coconut Water Taps David & Goliath

Featured Stories