Be it the state of the economy or the fact that too fancy a splash can sometimes wash away a message, more brands are turning to service destinations for p.r. stunts. Think: Takeovers of car washes, diners and, as we saw at Coachella this year, gas stations. And that’s precisely where Indonesian brand Kopiko and its Focus Coffee candy landed for a sampling campaign to mark its entry into the U.S. market.
As its product hit more than 200 convenience stores and gas stations in the Los Angeles area, the brand set its sights on UCLA and the college student demographic ahead of finals week, serving up gas and caffeinated treats to students for two hours every day, May 19-22, while generating sales in the process—we’ll explain how in a moment. The stunt took place at the Mobile at the intersection of Santa Monica and Westwood boulevards.
“College students are cultural catalysts—they’re the ones shaping conversations, setting trends, and bringing the energy,” Ricky Afrianto, head of global marketing and director at Mayora Group, parent company of Kopiko, said in a press release. “We knew Westwood was the right place to bring this to life because it sits at the heart of student life in Los Angeles. Kopiko Focus Coffee is all about delivering energy in a bold, new way, and this generation gets that immediately.”
Here, four fast facts about this quick and quirky “L.A… Fueled by Kopiko” program that came together in just under four weeks.
Consumers were charged for the samples.
Indeed, the brand team set out to sell one packet of Kopiko to each student consumer at the station for $2.99 in exchange for up to $70 worth of free gas. The strategy: Consumers are more likely to remember a product they actually purchased. Spoiler alert: Consumers bought the candy without hesitation. The brand did require that drivers flash their student I.D. in order to receive the fuel-up. And yes—some arrived with parents in the front seats, because, hey, free gas. Ultimately, the team dispensed 9,000 gallons to students, totaling more than $45,000 in fuel and staying within the budget set for each day.
Sixty influencers were hired to create content.
A week before the event, the brand enlisted 20 local influencers, from @drew_tillman (an L.A. travel expert on Instagram) to @madymaio (an L.A. guide on TikTok), to tease the event on their channels. This, on top of three LED billboard box trucks that roamed L.A. eight hours each day promoting the campaign as well as street teams that passed out physical flyers on the UCLA campus.
Then for the four days the fuel-up events took place, some 40 influencers rolled through to shoot content around the action. Much of the content was designed to appeal to students and focused on how to save money or student-life hacks. Influencers had between 5,000 and 100,000 followers.
On the first day, it was crickets—but only for an hour.
At 9:30 a.m., ahead of the 11 a.m. kickoff, the gas station and surrounding area was quiet. Too quiet. The team went so far as to print out signs promoting “free gas” in case they needed brand ambassadors to hit the streets. But by 10:30 a.m. cars started rolling in to all four entrances of the station. In fact, everybody came at the same time.
It was all-hands-on-deck for the first 20 minutes as the teams routed traffic through a nearby neighborhood, and around and out of existing bus lanes. But as the influencer content worked its magic, the third and fourth days proved busiest—so busy, that the team had to call off the LED billboard trucks that were still circling the city.
The gas station owner hired help.
Brand ambassadors weren’t allowed to pump gas at the station, so the teams worked with the owner of the gas station (a popular spot for local promotions) who hired three additional employees to help out for the events each day. As for mapping the traffic patterns, the Evolve Activation team drove the area surrounding the station at 4 a.m. to work out the flow and contingency plans, as neighboring properties were not available to use for staging or parking. All in a day’s work for an event prof. Pass the Kopiko. Partners: Evolve Activation (creative); Blaze PR (media, logistics)
Photo credit: Laxamana Media
