Inside Halfday’s Innovative Approach to Address Work Burnout

Halfday, the iced tea brand launched in 2021 and started rolling out at retailers in 2022, is taking a unique approach to combat work burnout and promote the importance of taking paid time off (PTO). As part of its campaign, the brand is giving away cash to 100 individuals to encourage them to utilize their unused PTO.

This initiative is supported by Halfday’s cheeky new “PTO PSA” ad, which calls for a cultural reset regarding our work-life balance and encourages people to stop glorifying burnout. Halfday aims to be the ideal companion for anyone looking to take a break, whether that means enjoying a spa day or simply spending 20 minutes relaxing on the porch.

According to Brian Coleman, the Director of Marketing at Halfday, the initiative was inspired by the increasing disconnect between the amount of PTO that people earn and how little they actually use. The timing felt appropriate, as burnout is reaching a cultural tipping point. Halfday partnered with YouGov and discovered that 52% of U.S. workers feel guilty about taking PTO, while 40% haven’t taken even a half day off in over a year. The survey included responses from over 1,000 people.

“We saw that stat and thought, ‘This is a problem we can help fix,’” he said. “What’s been really eye-opening is with the 1,000+ submissions so far, many people didn’t ask for flashy experiences as they just wanted an afternoon to themselves. Some even shared they didn’t realize how badly they needed a break until this campaign made them think about it. That emotional honesty is exactly what we hoped to connect with.”

Halfday aims for this campaign to not only raise awareness but also to be recognized as a brand that genuinely promotes a healthy work-life balance. They want to deepen brand loyalty and encourage community engagement by spreading the message that taking paid time off isn’t selfish; it’s essential. 

For this campaign, the majority of the ad budget was allocated directly to the PTO giveaway, reflecting the brand’s belief that the more they could offer, the more individuals they could empower to genuinely take time off. To amplify awareness, a “PTO PSA” video was produced and shared across the brand’s website and social channels. It is not clear on how much the brand allocated its marketing budget for its campaign.

The video received a high level of organic engagement, but a considerable part of the remaining budget was allocated to increase its reach through paid promotion. Halfday also engaged in guerrilla marketing efforts in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Austin, TX. This bold and unconventional approach was designed to generate buzz, which was later repurposed for social media content.

Halfday views TikTok as a storytelling platform, allowing the brand to connect with its community in a way that feels fun, fast-paced, and authentic. At the same time, Halfday remains mindful of TikTok’s constant changes and news of its potential ban and maintains a diversified content strategy by actively engaging on Instagram, where the brand currently has its largest following.

“We’re also putting more emphasis on community-driven storytelling and it’s not just about pushing product, but amplifying the emotional and personal side of the brand,” said Coleman.  “We’ve seen a major uptick in engagement (if not just views) in content that we’ve shared, that showcases our team and how we think about work.”