The Insights
- The company’s new mascot, Johnny, and Just Add Cran campaign bring the cranberry bog into consumers’ homes via streaming TV, online video, and social media.
- Campaign platforms include Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok, where their audience is highly active, which ensures continued communication and enhances the campaign’s reach and impact.
- In spite of potential bans, Ocean Spray continues to use TikTok leveraging its trends to create relatable, viral content.
Ocean Spray is aiming to connect with Gen Z and younger Millennials through its new mascot, Johnny, and the innovative Just Add Cran campaign. This initiative represents years of planning and refinement, culminating in a fresh approach to engaging with a younger audience.
As opposed to previous campaigns that focused on bringing viewers to the flooded cranberry bog, Just Add Cran’s campaign brings the bog into consumers’ homes. Streaming TV, online video, and social media were used by Ocean Spray and Orchard Creative to reach their audience more effectively, while retaining the brand’s heritage with its zero sugar juice offerings.
For this campaign, Ocean Spray prioritized its marketing budget on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok, which are key social media channels where its audience is highly active. Through this approach, Ocean Spray ensures their audiences remain connected. This strategy will enhance the campaign’s reach and impact, as Ocean Spray plans to creatively showcase Johnny for future product launches and individual social engagements.
Monisha Dabek, SVP and Chief Commercial Officer, USA at Ocean Spray, emphasized the importance for the legacy brand to remain relevant across all generations, especially by gaining traction with Millennials and looking ahead to Gen Z. By leveraging social media platforms where these audiences are most active, Ocean Spray aims to connect with younger consumers in a meaningful way.
“We feel strongly that this new campaign has multigenerational appeal especially through the introduction of our character, ‘Johnny’ who embodies our authentic New England roots and the dedication of our co-op growers overall,” said Dabek.
Ocean Spray’s Persistent TikTok Strategy and Viral Success
Aside from this campaign, Ocean Spray continues to leverage TikTok as a key platform for engaging with its audience, filling its feed with entertaining and creative content that resonates with viewers. The brand’s approach to TikTok focuses on authentic, relatable videos that highlight their products in fun and innovative ways. Despite discussions about potential bans on the platform, Ocean Spray has not altered its strategy, remaining committed to using TikTok to reach and entertain its audience.
As Dabek pointed out, Ocean Spray has prioritized TikTok as a platform to connect with consumers ever since its viral TikTok moment in 2020. While maintaining a lighthearted approach, the brand embraces trending sounds and niche moments. In a recent video, Ocean Spray used a trending sound of a user laminating her water bottle label, garnering 13.1 million views and 1.4 million likes. A brand that goes viral must be in the right place at the right time, which cannot simply be replicated by other brands.
“We thought it would be a great moment to tap into this trend while also highlighting our new label design,” said Dabek. “We have [no plans to shift our strategy] at the moment.”
