How Liquid I.V. positions dehydration as a universal buzzkill

In May, Liquid I.V. launched  its “Tear Pour Live More”  campaign, which framed hydration as less of a medical necessity and more of a superpower.

Leaning into its four usage occasions—heat, travel, nightlife, and exercise—the brand spent the summer getting consumers excited about hydration.

Liquid I.V.'s activations have ranged from an ice cream truck promoting its Popsicle flavor to appearances at music festivals and pop-ups during college move-in days. By the end of its marketing tour, the brand had handed out over 120 thousand drink sticks.

I spoke to senior brand director Brittany Shaw about this year’s “hydration season." She broke down the importance of engaging with consumers during high-energy moments, as well as leveraging a creator network to reward longterm fans and promote everyday product use.

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‍This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Question: Since joining Liquid I.V. in 2021, how has the brand and its marketing team evolved? 

Brittany Shaw: We now have an in-house team that is focused on each part of the integrated marketing model. We have an in-house partnerships team, activations team, social team and an influencer team. 

Our KPIs as a marketing team are awareness of course, but also household penetration.  We’ve developed an intentional org design to support 360 activations, and we’ve continued to amplify and elevate this model. 

We have big awareness campaigns and initiatives focused on bringing in new customers, but it’s also about our loyalty programs that are a bit more localized and targeted so we can really connect with our consumers and build those relationships. 

Q: Who are your target consumers at Liquid I.V., and what role do activations play in reaching them? 

A: We look to target our four usage occasions, which are heat, travel, nightlife and exercise. We really looked to identify moments that are not only culturally relevant and have an engaged audience, but also make sense for our usage occasions. This summer, we really looked to activate at locations where people experience extreme temperatures and dehydration. 

We kicked it off as title sponsor of Neon Carnival, which is one of the biggest after parties of festival season. And then that led into May, where we celebrated our first year of a two-year deal with Formula One as the race’s first functional hydration partner.  

In June, we really looked to target music festivals. We activated in New York City at Governor’s Ball, in Manchester for Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and most recently at Lollapalooza in Chicago, where we had the official powdered hydration sponsor title.

Q: How else did you show up in new spaces this year? 

A: We always want to meet our consumers where they are, and college students are a target demo for us. We decided that back to school season offered a  great opportunity for our team to really connect with those students across various locations around the country.

We launched our college ambassador program, and we activated a move-in hub on campuses across the country. It was a sampling initiative to parents and students as they moved into school during the record-high temperatures. 

We were on site at Morehouse College, University of Louisville, Rutgers, Rutgers and NYU, handing out over 1,000 servings sticks at each stop.

Q: How do you measure success when working with creators, and how do you land on the right mix of partners? 

A: We really look to partner with creators that embody different usage occasions. It’s one thing to see marketing messages on an ad, but our micro influencers have really strong relationships with their audiences.  It just increases this perception that it’s a product for everyone, and not just professional athletes. 

We also have a macro influencer network, which is really about increasing awareness and bringing consumers into the brand because of their high reach and large audiences.  It’s important to have both.

Q: How do you strive to break through the clutter and stand out on the social feed? 

A: We look for real-time feedback from our customers that ultimately drives innovation in our marketing communications. We try to engage in a two-way dialogue that informs not only some of our marketing activations, but also our flavor launches. 

It’s important for us to make these connections through social media, and we really strive to bring our audience alongside our evolution.