Mark Anthony Brands CMO on White Claw’s new campaign and summer beverage trends

Fostering togetherness has long been at the heart of beverage alcohol advertising—a condition amplified by recent attention to the so-called “loneliness epidemic,” with studies, polls and books detailing a worldwide plague of isolation that threatens well-being. Diageo’s Smirnoff vodka went for a cure behind its “We Do We” campaign last year, and now White Claw is joining the fight. “Grab Life by the Claw” is meant to attack the dichotomy of constant virtual connections but little real-life socializing, according to Isabelle Sakai, global chief marketing officer for White Claw parent Mark Anthony Brands, whose other brands include Mike's Hard Lemonade. A new ad shows a group of friends lured from the distractions of work, phones or chores to assemble for a hangout around a White Claw variety pack. The work comes from White Claw’s agency of record, VCCP, and was directed by Björn Rühmann. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here The media buy includes streaming video including Netflix, with broadcast spots set to run during the NBA Playoffs, NCAA football, the US Open and the Kentucky Derby, as well as during shows like “The Bachelorette,” “American Idol,” “The Voice,” “Vanderpump Villa” and “The Kardashians.” This is White Claw’s first major campaign under Sakai, who joined Mark Anthony a year ago following years with big food and packaged goods brands including Mondelēz and Procter & Gamble. It captures her vision for the top-selling hard seltzer brand. White Claw has also expanded to a line of spirits-based RTDs including the newly released White Claw Tequila Smash and a nonalcoholic option, White Claw 0%. In the following interview, Sakai addresses the loneliness epidemic, how she is building Mark Anthony’s marketing teams and how product and flavor innovation will distinguish the company. (Sakai did not address the forthcoming hydration beverage Mark Anthony is developing with Lionel Messi; but said a new campaign for Mike’s Hard Lemonade, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is also on the way). The interview has been edited for style and length. Can you discuss the strategic underpinning of the new White Claw campaign? “Grab Life by the Claw” is really rooted in human insights. Nowadays, people feel isolated, right? You heard about the loneliness epidemic that was exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. And it’s really a paradox, because on one hand we are really hyperconnected, right? But on the other hand, people feel really isolated, and this is where White Claw comes in. White Claw is a brand that is committed to bringing people together so they have a great time. It’s a badge of shared good times. It’s all about socializing and having fun and grabbing life by the claw. The brand platform really is this rallying cry to connect and have a White Claw together. It’s an invitation to hang out, to engage in meaningful social interactions, because that's what human beings really need. They need those relationships to be happy. White Claw led phenomenal growth for the hard seltzer category, but the trend has slowed down lately. To what degree will this new campaign influence sales and category growth? Hard seltzer is a sector that’s still in transformation. It’s only five years old, after all. After it exploded, you’ve seen all the newcomers. Everyone wants to join in the fun—we call this the gold rush. But frankly, the newcomers were not fantastic products, and consumers got confused. And what we’re seeing now is basically everything has started to calm down a lot. Some brands have already exited, and the category is in this consolidation phase, where you’ve got two or three big players and a pioneer, that’s us. We’re gaining share. We have 63% of the segment and what we expect to see next is actually to regrow the category. We are very excited to actually kick off this new phase with our new brand platform, which is clearly an enabler to do that. Can you discuss innovation at Mark Anthony? Probably the best example of our innovation is White Claw 0%, because it innovates in many different areas. First, it acknowledges that consumer needs are evolving. And you know that more and more people actually are sober curious. Actually, we know that 70% of people who drink alcohol today are looking for a damp lifestyle—and it goes up to 80% when you’re looking at Gen Zers and millennials. The White Claw badge value gives consumers the confidence to drink non-alc without fear of judgment or questions. I’m sure that you’ve been in one of those situations where in a social setting you are having a non-alc drink and everyone is kind of interrogating you. “Why you are not drinking alcohol?” So we acknowledge that. We come with a product that really looks and feels like an alc drink, and is really delicious. That’s another area where I think Mark Anthony is amazing—flavor innovation. It’s very difficult to actually add flavor to water because it’s the alcohol that gives the drink its complexity and the richness of the flavor profile. How is that product doing on the shelves? It’s been extremely well received. We launched in January so it’s quite early right now, only a quarter in. But what I can tell you is from the comments we see from consumers on social media are all positive, and I think it’s because we heard them. We are really answering a true consumer need here. And there’s a gap in the market. They really wanted something that was for adults, but that was not too sugary like sodas or virgin cocktails. [They wanted] more taste than water, and less heavy, frankly, than the non-alc beers. So there are real needs that we are answering, and people are appreciating that. One of your goals was to build the marketing organization. Can you discuss your progress? Mark Anthony is not like the P&Gs of this world. It’s not a super structural organization and that’s the reason why we manage to move so fast. So the idea is not to build an organization that is very rigid, and very organized, very codified. But we built a fantastic practice around the company, with people who work in different categories of products from the wineries to spirits and RTDs, working in local positions or in global positions. And what we have done is to try to find the right balance between scale, which is being brought by the global teams, and staying super connected to the consumers on the ground through the local teams. As well, we’ve been honing our craft, sharing best practices, [and] being inspired with great work. That’s what we’ve been doing within the last year. And it’s coming nicely together, with great people who are really passionate and are willing to raise the bar. What is America going to be drinking this summer? One trend is obviously margaritas. And we have an amazing product, Cayman Jack, that is very fast growing. Margarita RTDs are No. 1 in the U.S. So I think we are surfing the wave of cocktails in general and definitely margaritas. So I think this summer is going to be a Cayman Jack summer.

Mark Anthony Brands CMO on White Claw’s new campaign and summer beverage trends

Featured Stories