In December 2021, Coo-ee provided hydration and prizes for the annual Shova Sbone Challenge in Kwamashu, KwaZulu Natal. 
 
The Shova Sbone Challenge is a local township event launched in 2019 that aims to uplift the community while encouraging the participation in sports events. Due to Covid, the event was cancelled in 2020 so the 2021 event brought much excitement to the local community!
  
> The cycle race attracts participants of all ages offering fun races for the smaller children to more advanced trail laps for the older cyclists. A prize giving held afterwards rewards the cyclists for their participation and brings the community together. We are proud to continue with our partnerships of this nature, as it is those moments of upliftment that bring joy to the work we do as BevCo - says Jodi Mill Coo-ee Brand Marketing and Trade Execution Manager for BevCo.



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Coo-ee keeps Shova Sbone Cool and hydrated

**BevCo introduces two new flavours into their Reboost portfolio, Reboost Mango Chilli and Reboost Cherry Plum Cinnamon created such a stir amongst consumers during the cold months of 2021 that they will now become a permanent part of the Reboost family. Adding to the powerful punch of flavours offered in the product line-up of Reboost Energy Drinks.**

From 1 February 2022 consumers will be able to grab any one of these powerful Reboost flavours at retailers nationwide and is lined priced to the rest of the Reboost range.

The full Reboost Energy Drinks product range includes five 500ml canned flavours:

- Reboost Original
- Reboost Blueberry
- Reboost Fantasy Fusion
- Reboost Mango Chilli (new)
- Reboost Cherry Plum Cinnamon (new)

***Rise with reason every day and make every moment matter because these two distinctive Reboost flavours are here to stay!***

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Welcome to the reboost range

**BevCo, the manufacturer and producer of Refreshhh still mineral water, donated 13 824L of bottled water to the community of Ladysmith. The donation follows the February 2021 damage caused by devastating floods and storms in Ladysmith leaving countless residents displaced and in need of vital supplies.**
 
Customers who have been badly affected by the floods in the area received one 6 pack of Refreshhh still mineral water through the community outreach programme managed by the local trader, TFS Ladysmith.

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BevCo donated 13 000L of bottled water to Ladysmith community

Every blue collar worker has a story to tell of tough times, especially in the wake of the pandemic. Times are particularly tough for the early risers and the late finishers, whose jobs more often than not require demanding physical strength and energy. As South Africa was gearing up for an icy cold winter, The Beverage Company (BevCo) decided to heat things up with a unique campaign to support our country’s valuable workforce.

**Reboost, BevCo’s affordable, proudly South African energy drink that gives power to the people, introduced 2 limited edition winter flavours – Mango Chilli and Cherry Plum Cinnamon. These two limited edition flavours were designed to warm consumers up and encourage them to keep moving throughout the harsh winter months.**

Along with the innovative new flavours, Reboost also partnered with Massiv Metro, a hybrid digital radio station. This partnership assisted with delivering authentic content and music to the commuter market in Gauteng with a 4-part podcast series to motivate and inspire them on their daily commute.

After extensive research, it was revealed that the majority of the Reboost target market travel via taxi 5 – 6 times per week, with an average of 24 minutes dwell time in taxi ranks, and 56 minutes spent in a taxi commuting per day. These commuters also showed a high propensity for listening to, and downloading, podcasts during their journey considering that most taxi ranks and taxi's offer free Wi-Fi solutions.  For us it was the natural choice to conceptualise a digital campaign that was relevant, easily accessible, downloadable and shareable.

"We Move Radio", a podcast series, moderated and hosted by legendary Kwaito star Zola7, led the series interviewing Demi Demi, internet sensation known in Mzansi for his motivational content and DBN Gogo, female DJ, known for her achievements and efforts in a male dominated industry.

Each episode, which ran from July to August was themed accordingly to motivate the audience: 

- Episode 1: Hard Times with Demi Demi 
- Episode 2: Hush your Haters with DBN Gogo
- Episode 3: Push your Passion with DBN Gogo (Women’s Day Edition) 
- Episode 4: Keep your Focus with Demi Demi

> *“We Move Mzansi” was broadcast on Massiv Metro between 6-9am and again from 3-5pm – the prime time to engage a captive audience on their morning and evening commutes. 
The campaign was supported by radio adverts introducing the new flavours and podcasts, as well as an extensive social media campaign where fans were teased about the new variants launch and challenged to guess the new flavours.*

“We live in an age where your brand story is the most effective way to engage an audience,” says Justine Lee, Marketing Manager at BevCo. “Reboost has done just that by sharing a high-quality, immersive and thought-provoking podcast that echoes the brand sentiments, look and feel.”
Running from 16 June to 21 September, the campaign was a resounding success. Massiv Metro loved the series so much they gave the campaign over R217 000 in added value and extended the reach by sharing the series on The Voice of Tembisa during DJ Sbu’s show (Over 840 000 listeners) and Pheli FM (Over 28 000 listeners per month).

Here’s some other incredible numbers that secured the award for the much-loved brand:

- 89% - The average completion rate per episode for the campaign, most podcasts lose 20 – 35% of their listeners at 5 minutes.
- 2 000 – The number of podcast downloads in 30 days, well over the average podcast download benchmark of 141 downloads within 30 days

>*“This campaign is a great example of how brands can push the boundaries and how they can reach their audiences through deliberate and engaging content outside of the norm. The response to these two new flavours has been overwhelming that we have decided to make them a permanent part of the Reboost range”, concludes Lee.*

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BevCo’s energy drink, Reboost, takes Bronze at New Generations Awards

The Beverage Company (BevCo) has a proud history in its journey to becoming a champion in the local beverage sector. Formed out of a merger between Little Green Beverages and Softbev in 2018, this marriage brought together a collection of powerful local and international brands that have long held value among South Africans for over 50 years.

Justine Lee is the marketing manager for The Beverage Company’s Energy drinks portfolio and here she provides a sense of who she is, why she loves the industry and profession, and what she believes contributes to the success of her brand.

**Tell us more about your role and what it entails exactly?**

I am the marketing manager for The Beverage Company’s Energy drinks portfolio.

When it comes to energy drinks, I spend 98% of my time working on Reboost - an incredibly exciting energy drink brand which has shown tremendous growth over the last 18 months despite such tough trading conditions.

No day is the same in my role, and this is possibly why I love my job so much - boredom is never a factor!

I view being a marketing manager as effectively owning your own business. Every decision and investment made should be with the sustainable growth of the brand and company at heart. I spend a lot of my time and marketing budget on developing and rolling out brand campaigns that continuously ensure we have a healthy and exciting innovation pipeline and clear understanding by the business and our customers that innovation is a key growth pillar within our brand strategy.

Having a tight control on budgets, leveraging customer and consumer insights, keeping a firm eye on our competitors, dealing with our various agency partners, as well as driving the correct product mix are all critical elements of my role.

**Growing up, what did you want to be?**

I wanted to be a lawyer! I grew up watching the likes of L.A. Law with my family and remember thinking to myself just how much I would love to be the one putting the “bad guys” away. I loved how smart and powerful the characters were - it thrilled me.

**Tell us about your career: what you studied and why, and how you ended up where you are today?**

Funny enough, I actually studied Travel and Tourism with Marketing Operations, so I’m a far cry from where I thought I wanted to be.

I was offered a shot in marketing back in 2004 when I started as the brand manager for Barbie (the licensed products - not the doll). The CEO took me under her wing and taught me so much. I quickly realised that this was the career I could grow and thrive in. I just loved every aspect of what the job entailed and I immediately felt at home.

Beyond that, I guess you could say the rest is history. With a career that has gone on for a strong 17 years, I’ve had the privilege of working on and with some great brands, including: Barbie, Hugo Boss, Puma, Vitaforce, Nespray, and now Reboost.

>The best part of my journey is that I’m still loving every day of this dynamic and exciting career choice.

**What are some of your most recent brand campaigns and the rationales behind them?**

Every year during our peak season, we run a ‘PEAK on-pack’ promotion, and in December 2020 we gave away three Polo Vivo Trendlines - a car a month for three months - as well as R150,000 in airtime and data. This campaign did incredibly well, and was further supported with in-store activations, massive in-store displays, and an awesome digital media competition.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It’s time to move up the ladder with a Power Move. Simply buy a Reboost promo can and WIN 3 cars in 3 months, and your share of R150 000 in instant prizes.<br>T&amp;Cs Apply: <a href="https://t.co/bJlI4layug">https://t.co/bJlI4layug</a> <a href="https://t.co/eqv5j1ow5P">pic.twitter.com/eqv5j1ow5P</a></p>&mdash; Reboost Energy (@ReboostEnergy) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReboostEnergy/status/1323157898222923776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

We keep a solid focus on running these on-pack promotions, bigger and better each time, as an important way to give back to our consumers - especially during these tough times. It’s key for us to keep building genuine brand love and that consumers are rewarded for their loyalty.

Reboost has just recently decided to embark on a new brand strategy, and in February 2021 we launched our outdoor media campaign called “The Peoples Power”.

It was a national campaign targeting commuter media hubs across the country which was then amplified by above the line advertising with an aggressive in-store sampling activation. We aimed to put “Liquid on lips”, driving sales with value-added promotions (Buy and Win).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fall in love with the game and get it done. Reboost is full of B Vitamins to help you ubangene. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PowerUpYourLife?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PowerUpYourLife</a><br>📸 <a href="https://twitter.com/tinyfilms_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tinyfilms_</a> <a href="https://t.co/QoY8hsnuIh">pic.twitter.com/QoY8hsnuIh</a></p>&mdash; Reboost Energy (@ReboostEnergy) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReboostEnergy/status/1363730239935766528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The campaign idea was born when we decided we wanted to effectively drive home our brand purpose – “to give any and every South African the little extra something to get through their day with power and purpose”. We wanted to acknowledge the hard work of the average South African person, reminding them that we’re in it together, and that they have a wingman in Reboost.

**Tell us about your most successful marketing campaign**

There have been a few, however most recently I would definitely say that “The Peoples Power” is my most successful campaign. It was really well received by both our trade partners and our consumers. I believe that what made it so impactful was that we ensured the campaign was in no way ‘one dimensional’.

> We had bold and effective billboards and outdoor media targeting commuters, bright and eye-catching displays in-store, brand ambassadors on the streets and in-store driving our sampling and trial agenda, an engaging social media campaign and a highly motivated sales force who aggressively pushed sales.

We aimed to ensure Reboost was top of mind and constantly within our target markets consideration set. The campaign definitely delivered on all objectives and was a critical component to our strong brand performance in our last fiscal.

**In your opinion, what do you think are the most successful channels for getting your brand message out there?**

I don’t believe there is any one channel we can rely on as marketers. The best strategy is an all-encompassing one, utilising various touchpoints to speak to your audience allows for the brand message to be communicated more effectively. Digital media has become an extremely important channel as you have the ability to be a finger touch away, readily accessible. This is increasingly becoming a must for all strategies – it should never be left out.

**Any career highlights you’d like to share?**

I would say when I won the Dragons Den Award at Nestle for the ‘Best Brand Strategy’ in the company, that was a hugely satisfying and rewarding moment for me. It was rather gruelling, with several rounds to get through and then finally judged in front of a panel of our cross functional EXCO members. I loved the experience! It forced those who took part to think at a very commercial level, and it stretched me, but I grew through the experience and still use those learnings gained to this very day.

**When it comes to branding, what can brands no longer ignore?**

The consumer need. This needs to be at the heart of everything we say and do. We are now in a dialogue with our consumers, they are engaging and interacting with us every day, don’t ignore what they are saying.

If you are able to deliver on the brand promise while meeting your consumer’s needs, you will continue to offer an amazing brand experience, build brand love and with that consumer loyalty.

**If you were mentoring a future you, what career advice would you give to aspiring young marketing and branding professionals?**

Be dynamic! This is an ever-changing industry and you have to be prepared to be agile and adaptable.

Believe in yourself! Sometimes you will not always get it right, but see it as failing forward, learn the lesson and grow for it.

Approach the role as a business manager, not just a brand manager. Try have a good commercial understanding of the business, it will give you the most amazing insights to ensure every decision has the total businesses best interests at heart.

Take calculated risks, allow yourself to be bold and courageous, it’s what will separate you and your brand from the rest.

Always keep your finger on the pulse, know what your consumers are saying, what your customers need and what your competitors are up to.

Have Fun, if you have fun, you will love what you do and when you love what you do, it will be evident in your output and results.

Work hard, don’t procrastinate and be a good team player.
> The best part of my journey is that I’m still loving every day of this dynamic and exciting career choice.

Newsroom

Coo-ee keeps Shova Sbone Cool and hydrated

Welcome to the reboost range

BevCo donated 13 000L of bottled water to Ladysmith community

BevCo’s energy drink, Reboost, takes Bronze at New Generations Awards

#BehindtheBrandManager: Justine Lee, marketing manager at BevCo

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