Who do you picture when you think about someone who consumes energy drinks? Stressed-out college students? Gamers who want to stay up all night? It’s neither one.
Resonate’s insights on the 28.4 million people who drank at least one energy drink in the last month paint a picture of a young to middle-aged dad, who likely has some kids under age 5. (Young kids are so adorably exhausting, aren’t they?)
As marketers, we often fall into misconceptions about our target audiences. We could be working with outdated, inaccurate personas. Or we could have just plain ol’ bad data. That’s why it’s vital for today’s marketers to have insights that are updated daily and paint a complete picture of consumers beyond flat demographics.
By digging into the Resonate Platform even further, we’re able to answer the question of why they reach for that can of liquid energy. We found that among the top reasons, besides energy, were these drinks taste good, it makes them feel good and it’s a special treat in their day. But can’t they satisfy those needs with other beverages? That’s why we need to answer the other why’s of their energy drink consumption.
We get at the deeper picture by looking at the personal values that guide their daily decisions, which then guides how you as marketers connect with these consumers. Energy drinkers are mostly guided by having the opportunity to show their abilities and to be admired for what they do. So as the marketer trying to connect with this audience, you should consider using themes of being admired, appreciated, successful and acknowledged in your creative and messaging.
The second personal value tied to energy drinkers is that they want the freedom to think up new ideas, they want to be creative and they want to develop new skills. So your creative and messaging should focus on themes of innovation, originality and cleverness.
Their third most important personal value is equality. These consumers want every person in the world treated equally. To them, life is about social justice. So your messaging and creative should align with themes of equality, fairness and tolerance. You could also highlight philanthropy and social activism.
The Resonate Platform continues to paint the picture of the energy consumer when we look at their psychological drivers, hobbies and routines. Energy drinkers are heavily driven by having social and professional status, getting recognition from their peers and the need for an exciting life. Their free time is spent playing fantasy sports, participating in outdoor activities, playing team sports and at the gym.
While the hobbies and routines of energy drink consumers might not be terribly surprising, what we also discovered was the high prevalence of parenthood and the high valuation of reliability and trustworthiness among this group. We can even tell you how they’re consuming energy drinks. Most people drink them alone. So your creative may feature a single person enjoying their drink rather than a group of people.
Energy drink consumers are a perfect target audience for any brand that wants to connect with young, active parents. However, you might not want to rely on traditional advertising channels to reach these folks. Although age-based offline buys might seem like a good idea at a high level, you would have to buy a lot of spots in a lot of different places to reach this audience at scale. Instead, online buys make more sense for reaching this group with relevancy and frequency. But it wouldn’t hurt to sprinkle in some TV on the four major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox), along with coverage during NFL football games.
Ready to start connecting with energy drink consumers? Reach out for a demo to learn more about this audience or any other consumer segment.
