Sprite Cools Heated Heads in Gaming By Turning Anger to Laughter
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA 17 November 2023 – In a world that is incessantly tense, Sprite Malaysia’s “Stay Cool Je” social campaign creatively turned heated moments into laughter, creating ripples amongst Gen Zs and the local gaming community.
Sprite Malaysia’s idea was built with a common insight that we are constantly on the edge, the smallest triggers lead people to lose their cool, particularly amongst Gen Z. This results in shortened attention spans, rising stress levels and “finding their place in the World” issues. The common enemy – “The Feeling of Heat” needed to be tackled! “How to resonate better with Gen Z in tackling heated moments positively was Sprite’s challenge” said Lim Kean Yew, APAC Social Listening & Consumer Engagement Director, The Coca-Cola Company.
Gaming and e-sports is a massively popular entertainment source and social activity amongst Gen Zs in Malaysia, with 45% regularly watching gaming videos.
“Identifying and analysing this high passion activity, Sprite recognised many gamers and streamers often lose their cool, with heated moments disrupting others from enjoying the game fully. Sprite stepped in with ‘Heat Happens, Stay Cool’ but in a very localised context of ‘Stay Cool, Je” that resonated with Malaysians.” he explained.
Sprite focused on the emotional transition that often occurs during a gaming session; from excitement at the start, progressing to built-up tension, followed by frustration and rage.
Collaborating with four renowned gaming streamers, Gripex, Ombong, Feekz & XK Penjahat, during their live streams, viewers were encouraged to call out their heated behaviour. To atone for their behaviour, Sprite threw in humourous challenges and activities from eating a spoonful of wasabi, doing push ups/dance while still gaming, to cooling off with a Sprite, turning anger into laughter, transforming heated moments.
The campaign resonated strongly with its audience, with the streamers and fans acknowledging the impact the campaign brought about to their gaming behaviour.
XK Penjahat, a crowd puller on Malaysia Mobile Legends League, was honoured to be approached by Sprite, his favourite drink.
“Staying calm and cool, keeping our emotions in check during a live stream is always a challenge. Even more so if we are on a losing streak, and we get trolled!” he said. “In hindsight, the challenges we did were really funny and entertaining. But more importantly, it taught us gamers, to learn how to relax, keep a cool head and enjoy the game,” he added.
Ombong, a top draw card on Malaysian Mobile Legends league said “The challenges we had to perform when our “frustrated” behavior was called out were spontaneous. I did them without thinking too much. Surprisingly, the fun and entertainment from the challenge enabled me to engage with my fans and Sprite, helping to calm me down .”
Sprite’s “Stay Cool Je” livestreams garnered 293,000 views with a staggering 19% average engagement rate, while reaction videos by influencers to the livestream achieved above the industry average. The campaign was a one of many firsts for Sprite, including live community engagement and responses, with the utilisation of Instagram reels.
Despite its limited media budget, the campaign reached 17.5 million users across Facebook and Instagram, reversing the declining trend of Sprite’s follower base on both social media platforms, with strong growth in Brand Penetration and Net Sales Revenue versus the previous year.
“As our world is increasingly heated, we are happy Sprite helped cooler heads prevail, cooling people down in more than one way,” said Lim. “We believe the campaign’s message is very relevant and timely. Regardless of the situation, we call on all Malaysians to ‘Stay Cool, Je” with Sprite.
In identifying the opportunity to spread positivity, Sprite’s unique approach to helping bring about a behaviour change was acknowledged by the communications industry being awarded Silver in the Non-Alcoholic Beverages category at the Malaysia Effies Awards 2023, along with Silver for Excellence in Marketing to a Specific Audience category, Silver for Excellence in Gaming category, and Bronze for Excellence in Social Media Marketing category at the Malaysia Marketing Excellence Awards 2023.
