How Monster Energy’s New Product Launch Peaked Search Interest and Dominated Sponsored Events

Key Takeaways

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Monster Energy released a sugar-free alternative, Monster Energy Zero Sugar, on January 9, 2023. Following the launch, search interest for "monster zero sugar" and "monster energy zero sugar" peaked on January 22, 2023, at 100*. Additionally, Monster experienced a +16% MoM increase in web traffic. Here are the key takeaways from their activation campaign: 

• Campaign Timeline: Monster timed its launch with Monster-sponsored events, such as the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season and the 2023 X Games Aspen.
• Press Release: Monster unveiled its new product through a press statement and a full interactive Multichannel News Release, which featured the MMA fighter Kamaru Usman, Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, and motocross rider Axell Hodges, showcasing the new product.
• Organic Social: Monster employed its organic social media channels to advertise the new product using bold and edgy captions along with visually appealing and authentic visuals. 
• Influencer Partnerships: Monster sent Zero Sugar products to streamers/players who posted on Twitter, then shared their posts on Monster Gaming
• Event Promotions: Monster athletes promoted the new Zero Sugar product during the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship and the X Games Aspen, attracting millions of viewers worldwide.
• Paid Advertising: 62% of Monster's ad spend between January 1 and February 11 was dedicated to advertising for Zero Sugar, amounting to $960K. Snapchat received 38% ($367K) of the ad spend, while Instagram received 36% ($340K).

*Numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term. 

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Monster Energy introduced its latest sugar-free offering, "Monster Energy Zero Sugar," on January 9, 2023. 

The new product is a sugar-free alternative to the original Monster Energy drink.

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After the launch, search interest for the term "monster zero sugar" and “monster energy zero sugar” experienced an increase in relative interest, peaking the week of January 22, 2023, at 100.

*Numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term. 

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During this time period, Monster saw an increase in web traffic, with January 2023 total monthly traffic increasing by +16% MoM. 

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In January 2023, Monster gained +178K followers — +0.2% more than the average growth rate.

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The launch was timed with Monster-sponsored events, such as the start of the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season and the 2023 X Games.

*Timeline not to scale.

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Monster unveiled its new product through a press statement and a full interactive Multichannel News Release.

Est. Traffic*: 2.3K

Key Tactics:

• Highlighting the USPs of the new product.
• Incorporating quotes for added credibility.
• Featuring strong brand images.
• Providing a clear call-to-action to encourage people to learn more.
• Using an interactive Multichannel News Release to enhance cross-channel promotion.

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The press release included 3 photos showcasing MMA fighter Kamaru Usman, Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, and motocross rider Axell Hodges with the new product.

Key Tactics

• Endorsement by athletes can enhance credibility and generate interest.
• The endorsements featured three distinguished athletes from vastly different sports, including MMA, snowboarding, and motocross. The athletes varied in age (22, 26, and 3) and genders.
• Including these high-profile athletes helps target a specific consumer group who are fans of the athletes and may be more likely to buy the product.

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Monster debuted its new Zero Sugar product on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for the first time on January 27, coinciding with the start of the X Games. 

Key Tactics

• The use of the phrase "Zero Fucks" in the caption is bold and edgy, which aligns with Monster Energy's brand personality. 
• The post was shared on January 27, which coincided with the first day of the X Games. 
• To enhance the visual appeal and organic feel of their launch post, Monster opted to showcase a hand holding the new Zero Sugar can against the backdrop of the Monster Superpipe rather than using the rendered image of the can that was featured in its ad campaign.

Views: 102K

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Eng.: 51K

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Eng.: 2.7K

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On both Instagram and Twitter, Monster’s gaming channels published posts featuring Zero Sugar on January 29 and February 4: 

Key Tactics

• The new product was launched on @monstergaming at different times than on @monsterenergy and featured unique images specifically targeting the gaming community.
• The launch post was published a day prior to Monster's blog post, which garnered 195K views on Twitter. The second Zero Sugar post was shared just days before the start of the IEM Katowice 2023, an event sponsored by Monster.
• The second post featured a photo of a Zero Sugar can and a caption that referenced Apex's skins, making it relevant and relatable to the gaming community.
• The captions for both posts were slightly different on Instagram (see here & here) compared to Twitter.

Views: 20K

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Views: 4.2K

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Monster provided product packages to streamers/players, who shared pictures of the new drink on their Twitter feeds. Monster Gaming then amplified these posts by retweeting them.

Mixiofficial - Musician | 257K Followers

Views: 3.9K

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Termanology - Rapper/Producer | 180K Followers

Views: 1.1K

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Matt Weik - Fitness Coach | 7.1K Followers

Views: 21

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Darrian Arch - ‍Monster Girl | 16.4K Followers

Views: 757

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2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship

Monster athletes posed with new Zero Sugar cans during the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship.

In the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship, athletes sponsored by Monster have been captured posing on the podium with a Zero Sugar can, with the presence of "Monster girls" promoting the new product as well. The trend began at Anaheim 1 on January 7, where the riders were photographed holding the Zero Sugar cans a day prior to its official release.

• ‍Anaheim 1 — the 2023 season opener had a P2+ rating of 197, ranking 64 of the Top 150 Original Cable Telecasts for January 7, 2023.
• ‍Monster-sponsored athletes account for 47% of the riders competing in the 2023 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship*.

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*Based on the riders featured on the 450 & 250 rider pages.

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X Games Aspen 2023

Monster athletes elevated brand awareness by showcasing the new product at the X Games from Jan. 27-29, 2023.

At the 2023 Aspen X Games, Monster athletes promoted the new Zero Sugar product on the podium, attracting the attention of thousands of fans in the audience and millions of viewers worldwide. Including the can in these podium moments resulted in increased exposure with the X Games, athletes, and fans sharing photos on their social channels.

• From Jan. 25 - Feb. 14, 2023, “X Games” videos have generated over 34.4M views* and over 2K video uploads. 
• For the 2023 men's and women's ski and snowboard Superpipe events, Monster held the title sponsorship.

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*Based on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Twitter. Instagram views currently unavailable. 

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Between January 1, and February 11, Monster allocated an average of $37K per day on digital ads, resulting in a total spend of $1.5M. Out of this amount, $960K, which accounts for 62% of the total spend, has been dedicated to ads for Zero Sugar.

*Ad spend includes US & Canada. US spend includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, OTT, TikTok, Display, & YouTube. Canada spend includes Facebook, Display & YouTube. Search not included. Daily Ad Spend includes all ad campaigns.

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Of Monster’s $960K spend on Zero Sugar ads, 100% was allocated in the United States, as the product is not yet available in Canada.

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Of Monster’s $960K spend on Zero Sugar ads, 38% ($367K) was allocated to Snapchat ads, followed by Instagram at 36% ($340K).   

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Snapchat Ads

Monster allocated $367K on Zero Sugar Story Post ads on Snapchat with the headline “New Monster Zero Sugar. Buy Now!”*.

Key Tactics

• ‍Ad copy is short, simple, and effective. It conveys the message clearly and directly, while also creating a sense of urgency.
• Monster decided to dedicate the majority of its advertising budget for promoting Zero Sugar on Snapchat, a platform that is particularly popular among younger generations, particularly those in the Gen Z demographic.

*Currently only Snapchat ad copy is available.

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Instagram/Facebook Ads

Monster allocated almost $500K to promote this video ad on Facebook and Instagram, with $340K on Instagram and $158K on Facebook.

Key Tactics

• ‍Instagram's CPM was 13% lower compared to Facebook.
• Although the ad displayed AMAZON.COM as the visible URL, it directed users to a MikMak page which refers people to where they can purchase the product.
• ‍The attention-grabbing headline "Zero Sugar with that big bad Monster buzz?" conveys the key selling point of the product - providing the same energy boost as regular Monster Energy drinks, but with zero sugar.

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TikTok Ads

Monster allocated $85K to this 15-second TikTok ad that effectively highlighted the product's key selling point and included a strong CTA.

Key Tactics

• ‍The side-by-side visual of the new Monster Zero Sugar can next to the original effectively conveys the product's key selling point of providing the same taste and energy boost as the original, but with zero sugar.
• ‍The ad's strong call-to-action, "Buy it now," creates a sense of urgency and encourages immediate engagement with the brand.
• ‍The ad's CPM was $9.8, slightly below the platform's estimated average CPM of $10.0.

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*Ad spend includes US & Canada in USD. US spend includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, OTT, TikTok, Display, & YouTube. Canada spend includes Facebook, Display & YouTube. Search not included.

*Spend is a directional approximation and does not include retargeting, or behavioural targeting.