How Yeti’s in-house agency helps the company stay true to its brand

In the race for water bottle domination, where frequent product and color drops and social media snubs are creating a battleground for brands, one company is unique for staying out of the fray. Yeti, the Austin, Texas-based purveyor of drinkware and cooler products, has grown its brand into a $1.7 billion powerhouse by keeping marketing in-house. After founding Yeti in 2006, the company started its internal agency five years ago as a way to stay nimble and reactive, but also have Yeti campaigns created by Yeti enthusiasts who truly understand the brand. “Our approach to things is very brand-first,” said Paulie Dery, chief marketing officer. “That’s why in-house works really well at Yeti—it’s hard to understand Yeti because the brand is very nuanced.” He noted Yeti products are just as popular at a duck hunt as they are at a Hamptons picnic. “We find that by having everyone here, it works really well,” said Dery, who was brought on nearly five years ago after building an internal agency at Uber. See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Agency A-List winners here Yeti’s in-house agency handles the bulk of the brand’s marketing, including content such as long-form films and photography. The division includes a creative studio with copywriters, designers and directors, social and PR, a brand team and a group called Community who work with Yeti’s plethora of brand ambassadors. Roughly 110 of Yeti’s 1,000 employees work on marketing, which also includes retail design for the company’s 20 stores, Dery said. Last year, the agency worked on notable campaigns including “For Every Single Use” and “Year in Preview,” both of which generated substantial engagement for the brand. “We have invested heavily in our creative resources and content ability,” said Dery. “We don’t have the media budget of a Verizon or a Walmart so the way we approach it is ‘Let’s make great things,’ and our sheer weight of great things is our competition to sheer weight of finance.” The agency has also helped propel Yeti’s recent growth. The company saw fourth-quarter sales grow 16% to $519.8 million and it generated $78.6 million in earnings for the quarter. As it grows, Yeti is investing more in advertising; it spent $75.5 million on advertising last year, an 11% increase over 2022 and 22% over 2021. Even though Yeti makes popular products such as insulated bottles, which younger consumers such as Gen Z and Gen Alpha covet, the brand does not create marketing based on fads. The company is known for its steadfast commitment to the outdoors, evidenced by campaigns that tout the versatility and durability of its products. “There are some brands that are steady because they’ve always been there, and Yeti is an example,” said Richard Hanna, professor of practice in marketing at Babson College. “They’ve always stuck to this idea that they’re an outdoors person’s cup and they’re dependable.” Ad Age A-List and Creativity Gala Buy your ticket to the in-person event Click here Last year’s “For Every Single Use” campaign, which tied Yeti’s products to sustainability with clever marketing copy, went viral on social media. The company said the push was one of Yeti’s most successful brand efforts ever; it raked in more than 600 million impressions. “We’re building our brand not for the next two years but for the next 200,” Dery said. “We don’t try and chase trends.” Another success from last year was actually created before the year even began. Yeti’s “Year in Preview” campaign turned traditional year-in-review programs on their head by giving customers outdoor adventures to plan for rather than look back upon. The interactive calendar, which was created with Code and Theory, generated more than 200 million impressions and users averaged more than two minutes on the site, according to Yeti. This spring, the brand is planning a big marketing push around cooler innovation, and will also explore the idea of habits and how Yeti’s product portfolio fulfills all the hydration needs of consumers. But above all, the marketer plans to remain authentic. “If we were influenced by external factors, whether that be the market or an ad agency, we may have done something we would have been hesitant to do, and it would have been to our detriment,” said Dery. “Us staying true to who we are, telling our stories the way we are, has proven time and again to repel competition and sustain phenomenal growth.” See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Agency A-List winners here

How Yeti’s in-house agency helps the company stay true to its brand

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