MilkPEP: You're Gonna Need Milk for That

<div style="font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 1.4;"><p align="justify">In 2024, the US-based Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) hosted two tentpole events. Both events were part of larger initiatives by MilkPEP to address gender inequality in sports and to modernize milk’s image as a performance beverage. MilkPEP launched a national campaign using the tagline “You’re Gonna Need Milk for That.” The phrase became the platform for running, gaming, and performance and health claims activations. MilkPEP had to determine the best strategy for the You’re Gonna Need Milk for That campaign. Should MilkPEP continue to target “modern milk moms” and young consumer groups? Should running and gaming segments be areas of focus or should MilkPEP cater to new audiences with different occasions and areas of interest? How could MilkPEP reinforce milk’s performance associations and keep milk in the forefront of culture?

<div style="font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 1.4;"><p align="justify">This case is suitable for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in marketing management, advertising, or strategy, and can serve as an introduction to building category demand, advertising and integrated marketing communications, community-centric marketing, and creative strategy and tactics. The case could also be used in a consumer behaviour course to illuminate the importance of consumer research, cultural influences on consumption, and the imperative of adapting emotional appeals, symbols, and persuasive approaches for the cultural context and target consumers. This case is designed to foster discussion on how to critically evaluate effective integrated marketing campaigns, specifically when trying to build category demand and under budget constraints. This case highlights the opportunities and challenges associated with marketing and advertising decisions for category-level marketing, and when the goal is to change perceptions of a product to ultimately drive sales. The case illustrates the different considerations brand managers and marketers need to consider when selecting a target audience, developing creative assets to speak to that audience, and measuring campaign performance. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to<br><br><ul><li>critically evaluate segmentation and targeting decisions, particularly for an organization that has a large and broad customer base, but a limited marketing budget;</li><li>understand the market—as well as the consumer-level forces that influence category demand—and how to address or respond to, and evolve with, those forces over time with communication strategies and tactics;</li><li>analyze how brands can use community engagement, experiential marketing, and celebrity or brand partnerships to strategically grow a category;</li><li>understand how brands can ladder up their communications by moving from advertising claims and attributes to functions, benefits, emotions, and ultimately purpose and values, as well as the value of focusing on different rungs of the ladder for top versus bottom-of-the-funnel goals;</li><li>recognize the importance of creating engaging, enduring, and flexible creative platforms; and</li><li>balance marketing and entertainment to simultaneously drive consumer interest and serve business goals.</li></ul>

• advertising
• communications
• campaign
• growth
• experiential marketing