Super Dirt | Launch Campaign
Determine a target audience and category for a new, completely unknown snack product.
Preview:
There are unwritten rules within functional snacks. These products are mainly about maximizing. Whether it’s the most protein or the most carbs, every bar explains how they can give Americans more. But it turns we don’t actually need it. Super Dirt asks the brave question: why are we consuming more when most of us are moving less?
My Role:
Lead Strategist
1:1 Interviews
Brief Writing
Deck Flow + Narrative
Grocery Store Ethnography
Functional Snack Category Research
Competitive Analysis and Testing
What is Super Dirt?
Super Dirt is a new brand dedicated to providing wholesome snacks made with real ingredients.
Their first product - Ballers - are organic, plant-based bites that come in six flavors. This brand is in the earliest of stages, still attempting to crowdsource on Kickstarter.
My team was asked to not only decide where and how to market this unknown product, but more importantly, figure out who best to market the Ballers to.
THE BRIEF
Background:
Not all snacks are built equal.
Walking through the grocery store, it’s obvious there are two categories of snacks - ones that sell on function and ones that sell on taste. Super Dirt Ballers can’t compete with pretzels, chips, and cookies on taste.
Luckily, stores have separate aisles for snacks that sell on function. These snacks fall into two main categories:
Protein bars - prioritize protein and used after a workout for muscle regeneration.
Energy bars - prioritize carbs and used prior to a workout for sustained energy.
Problem:
Functional bars are obsessed with maxing macros.
Protein and energy bars both advertise having the “most” of their chosen macro. They consistently try to stuff more into their products. Manufacturers often have to balance these extras by adding sugar to make the bars palatable.
Super Dirt, however, doesn’t max out macros so would we stand a chance in the functional categories either?
I interviewed functional bar buyers in-store to determine if there was room for Super Dirt in the functional bar space.
Audience:
The aspirationally healthy modern worker.
We discovered that energy bars are primarily purchased by those who are not going on long hikes or strenuous workouts. People buying these carb-heavy bars are often office workers looking for a “healthy snack.”
You don’t need to watch Office Space (1999) to know people are sitting at their jobs. In fact, people are sitting now more than ever. These office workers have been hoodwinked into believing they’re making a healthy choice when they reach for a Clif Bar, blissfully unaware they’re consuming the macro profile of a candy bar.
Modern workers use energy bars as a snack, not a meal replacement. They might visit the gym, but they don’t live there. Their day is constantly in motion, but mostly in a swivel chair. Most importantly, they strive to be healthy.
Insight:
Modern workers have fallen into the macro misconception trap.
Functional bars are telling us to consume more, but modern workers don’t need it. Studies show that Americans are getting plenty of protein and carbs. And most of the carbs we eat are loaded with unnecessary sugars - like the kind found in current energy bar offerings.
Super Dirt, however, is fuel for the aspirationally healthy. We get modern workers from breakfast to lunch and lunch to dinner without overloading them with maxed out macros. We need to remind people that:
THE STRATEGY
More is not always better, because the right amount is.
THE CREATIVE
Creative Concept:
Energy. The Normal Amount.
Super Dirt Ballers gives people exactly what they need: Energy. But only the amount they need.
This campaign puts Super Dirt in the energy category and illustrates how much energy the average person uses.
Partnership
As a unique way to be seen by our target, Super Dirt Ballers will partner with Planet Fitness to release a treadmill that has a max speed of four miles per hour. We’ll also offer free samples to get people through their very normal workout.
Gratitudes and Learnings
This project taught me how to transform research into a brand truth. I sifted through dozens of online sources, stalked the grocery bar aisle, and interviewed snackers which led me to the big lie we’re being told about macros. I learned how difficult it is starting with literally no brand, no target, nothing. I had to tell a cohesive, succinct story that would actually get these little balls to sell. Having an excuse to taste test the competition was an added bonus.
The Team
Art Director - Tahmari Tupponce
Copywriter - Dipanshi Agarwal
Experience Designer - Anna-Lyle Collett
Brand Manager - Amber Bills
Brand Manager - Max Warren