The idea was simple, but risky. PowerBar was launching a healthy new product and needed a restart. So did recently disgraced Olympic champion, Ryan Lochte. We decided to use the publicity and his willingness to be self-deprecating as a lever for attention. What could go wrong?

PowerBar “Clean Start”

Our innovative, fully-social campaign (customizable videos and a product giveaway) launched just before Super Bowl and got more impressions (88 million paid, 800 million earned) than most big game campaigns. We doubled sales and exceeded forecasts. The lesson learned was that there was not enough to sustain success. The product was good, not great. We achieved the intended jumpstart, but there wasn’t budget or plan to make it last. The Lochte campaign reminded me you could crush KPIs, but not win if you’re measuring the wrong things. And like a snack bar, often times nutrient density (long term meaning) beats a tasty sugar spike (short term attention).

Participants customized a video from Lochte to send to their friends.

A series of “Clean Start Stories” followed the launch.