Slurpee is a beloved cultural icon known for being a nostalgic reward. After 57 years, though, Slurpee was at risk of becoming just another frozen drink.
In 2022, 7-Eleven’s #2 share in the frozen category was being threatened by a cultural preference for the drive-thru and deep QSR advertising pockets where 7-Eleven was routinely outspent at a rate greater than 10 to 1. With summers getting hotter, cooling off at the drive-thru wasn’t a behavior expected to change anytime soon.
We knew the Slurpee brand held untapped power as one of our most distinct and celebrated assets. America’s OG frozen beverage had to increase its relevance among a new generation of drinkers if it wanted to sustain growth into the next 50 years. Not an easy task, considering most younger customers hadn’t grown up with the nostalgia of a Slurpee – and anyone who lived outside a 7-Eleven market and hadn’t been exposed to the brand at all.
The objective was clear: create a culturally relevant new vibe and point of view for Slurpee that would usher in a new generation of fans. This included:
Elevating perceptions of Slurpee – and by extension 7-Eleven – as a cool, desirable brand among Gen Z and young Millennials.
Persuade new audiences to buy Slurpee drinks
Grow the Slurpee footprint by 50% nationally by making it available at Speedway and Stripes stores and increase year-over-year Slurpee Day (7/11) redemptions.
It’s more than a drink. It’s a Slurpee. It’s a ritual that fuels your creativity. We set out to re-introduce this cultural icon with the first-ever dedicated marketing campaign for the product. This included an omnichannel campaign showcasing a refreshed look and feel with new TV spots, social and paid media campaigns and consumer activations. The rebrand included a new logo, look and feel, new cups and merchandise – all touted throughout the campaign, making the next era of the Slurpee in a where anything flows.
The idea was to keep the nostalgic drink dominating feeds all summer long – deemed “The Summer of Slurpee” – to celebrate its loyal customers and usher in a new generation of fans. We crafted a strategic storytelling and media relations approach to be phased throughout the summer to create a steady drumbeat of news to catch the attention of our target audiences by tapping into the key fandoms that overlap with the Slurpee fan community and aspirational target – music and fashion.
PHASE I: Reveal the Slurpee rebrand
We kicked off “The Summer of Slurpee” in early June with the announcement of the rebrand, targeting Adweek for an exclusive on the campaign with 7-Eleven’s Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer, Marissa Jarratt. The news was then pitched to national consumer outlets, marketing trades and retail trades to prime the pump for Phase II.
PHASE II: Engage consumers with the “Anything Flows” Flo Milli song release, open lyric contest and King Ice partnership.
We teamed up with burgeoning rapper Flo Milli to release the ultimate song of the summer – “Anything Flows” – on streaming platforms as part of her discography. The song featured Slurpee-inspired verses and cameos from rising stars Kari Faux, 2Rare and Maiya the Don. It included a call to action for fans and up-and-coming artists to showcase their own talent by submitting lyrics to the track’s open verse. The top entry inspired by Slurpee would land a spot on the song’s remix that would drop at the end of the summer. Those who weren’t ready to step up to the mic could still win experiences inspired by the fusion of streetwear and hip hop, like custom pieces of Slurpee-inspired jewelry from King Ice or the chance to be an extra in a Lyrical Lemonade music video.
PHASE III: Take Slurpee Day (7/11) up to Eleven
Everything culminated with the biggest day of the year for the brand on July 11 – 7-Eleven’s “birthday” a.k.a. Slurpee Day. On this day, we traditionally offer free small Slurpees to all customers, but this year we revealed an 11-day extended timeframe and three extra opportunities to get a free Slurpee. To sweeten the deal, we also dropped limited edition birthday merch on our website and an exclusive birthday digital collectable. These elements were used to get the attention of the consumer media so we could remind them about the full breadth of “The Summer of Slurpee,” while reinforcing the cultural legacy of the brand and the innovative spirit of the rebrand.
Anything Flows reignited the Slurpee brand with younger customers and unleashed it as one of our most distinctive brand assets. The phased approach increased consideration and elevated 7-Eleven’s brand power like never before, truly making 2023 the Summer of Slurpee.
PHASE I: Reveal the Slurpee rebrand
Earned coverage in trades. which cascaded into top consumer publications, generated 670 placements and 2.68B impressions.
PHASE II: Engage consumers with “Anything Flows”
Broke through with lifestyle and multicultural media, generating nearly 1.65B media impressions and 813 placements in key publications
The release of the single by Flo Milli earned over 2.5 million streams on Spotify and organically made its way onto 11 highly coveted Spotify playlists like Rap Caviar (15.6MM followers), New Music Friday and Feelin’ Myself.
PHASE III: Take Slurpee Day Up to Eleven
News around the day surpassed 5 billion impressions, with coverage in all 25 key markets for Slurpee and outperforming 2022 Slurpee Day earned media results by 10x.
Slurpee Day cup redemptions increased by 92% compared to 2022, from 3.9M to more than 7.5M.
Anything Flows delivered:
5B Slurpee Day impressions
16.3M hashtag views
713K social engagements
2K pieces of merchandise sold on 7Collection
Moved familiarity from 24% to 62% with the core gaming audience
Earned over 12 billion earned media impressions
Anything Flows theme song logged 2.29M organic streams and counting!
Total 7-Eleven brand consideration up to 80% (vs. 72% STYA)
Slurpee product consideration up to 63% average (vs. 58% STYA) among younger customers
