How Smoothie King is seeking younger customers with Dude Perfect

Dude Perfect has scored another brand deal. The group, known for its trick shots and family-friendly comedy sketches, will get its own smoothie at Smoothie King in a promotion aimed at drawing more younger buyers. The limited-edition Dude Perfect smoothie, available starting March 12, is a blend of pineapples, bananas, kiwi and apple juice, protein powder, vanilla frozen yogurt, turbinado sugar and blue spirulina, a first on the Smoothie King menu and a nod to the blue Dude Perfect logo. The smoothie will come in one of three 32-ounce collector cups that feature cartoon versions of the Dude Perfect team. Each cup has a QR code that customers can scan to be entered to win a sweepstakes. The campaign, from The Infinite Agency, plays into the group’s trick shot reputation. The media buy includes streaming, digital, social media and out-of-home. Dude Perfect’s social media content focuses on trickery such as making a basket blindfolded, as well as comedy sketches. The group comprises creators Tyler “The Beard” Toney; “The Twins” Cory and Coby Cotton; Garrett “The Purple Hoser” Hilbert; and Cody “The Tall Guy” Jones, all of whom were college roommates at Texas A&M University. Dude Perfect has over 60 million YouTube subscribers, 12 million Instagram followers and 18 million TikTok followers. The group is popular with families and younger viewers because they don’t swear and their content is not violent. @dudeperfect this stuff is CRAZY 🤯 #challenge #quicksand #dudeperfect ♬ original sound - Dude Perfect “Partnering with Dude Perfect to reach their millions of subscribers and followers, helps Smoothie King gain access to a large and engaged audience, increasing brand exposure and visibility while introducing the brand to a new, younger audience,” said Marianne Radley, Smoothie King’s chief marketing officer. Dude Perfect, which has been around for about 15 years, is enjoying rising interest from brands, as marketers continue to seek new ways to build audiences by engaging social media stars with built-in fan bases. “As the creator space continues to mature this is going to be where brands and marketers will have to continue to be savvy to reach these niche communities,” said Victoria Bachan, president of Whalar talent. “To grow a consumer base audience, you have to meet them where they are so this type of partnership is a perfect example of that.” “When we look at the core Dude Perfect audience, we see a landscape of young families who embrace sports, activity and who are looking for better on-the-go options,” Radley said. Last month, Bodyarmor became the official hydration partner of Dude Perfect. The group has also struck deals with Reese’s, Bass Pro Shops, Chipotle, Toyota and Walmart. The group has also worked with Samsung in recent months, incorporating its cell phones into videos. @dudeperfect MIND BLOWN at the end 🤯 The Samsung #GalaxyZFlip5 will do that to you 👀 Go get one for yourself – link in bio! @SamsungUS #SamsungPartner ♬ original sound - Dude Perfect Dude Perfect will run a sweepstakes with Smoothie King that will see one winner win $10,000 and spend the day with the Dudes at the group’s Texas studio. The sweepstakes will run from March 12 to May 31. Smaller prizes include Smoothie King gift cards and Dude Perfect merch. Radley said Dude Perfect was also appealing because members of the group are already fans of the brand—a few were already part of the rewards program. The new partnership comes as Smoothie King has been revamping its marketing to focus on how smoothies are healthier than fast food. The approach seems to be working, according to sales results. The chain, which bills itself as “the world’s largest smoothie brand,” saw same-store sales increase 11.5% in 2023, citing new menu items such as Smoothie Bowls as helping to drive growth. It plans to open 100 new stores in 2024. “For the past 15 months, we have been on a major brand transformation, through our creative, our marketing and advertising approach and through our partnerships,” Radley said. “We are showing up as a brand in a more confident way to talk about our delicious smoothies and the nutritious ingredients that go in each of them.” Part of that transformation was the launch of the brand’s “Sucking Awesome” campaign in January. “I love the line, ‘Throw a straw in your jaw and be Sucking Awesome,’” Radley said. “We’ve been having a lot of fun with it and we are seeing that this creative approach is resonating. The campaign reinforces Smoothie King’s value proposition and showcases our high-quality ingredients.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Smoothie King (@smoothieking) The Dude Perfect smoothie also seems to be tapping into the celebrity smoothie trend popularized by high-end grocery store Erewhon. The California chain has smoothies made in partnership with celebrities including Hailey Bieber, Gisele Bündchen and Sofia Richie Grainge, as well as a smoothie featuring blue spirulina, a dietary supplement.

How Smoothie King is seeking younger customers with Dude Perfect

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