MilkPEP's Growth Through Inclusive Marketing: A Case Study

Facing declining sales and cultural relevance, MilkPEP leveraged inclusive marketing strategies to reconnect with modern consumers and drive growth. This case study explores how the organization transformed its approach to marketing, resulting in a significant turnaround in milk sales and cultural relevance.

Background

• Declining milk sales since 2010
• Low cultural relevance, especially among younger consumers
• Need to appeal to a diverse, modern audience

Strategy

1. Inclusion as a Core Strategy

"The goal is to make sure that everyone who touches the brand whether it's a director, an editor or crew members, anyone associated with MilkPEP is on board with the strategy of inclusion." - Geoff Edwards

2. Targeting Diverse Young Families

"Commercially, we identified our key source of volume as young families, which are very diverse by nature." - Yin Woon Rani

3. Leveraging Diverse Talent and Influencers

MilkPEP partnered with diverse celebrities and influencers, including Amanda Gorman, Cardi B, Chrissy Teigen, Aubrey Plaza, and Queen Latifah to help them keep pace with their audience.

4. Ensuring Inclusive Representation

Campaigns pay homage to diverse body types, abilities, races, sexual orientations, and individual struggles and achievements.

5. Implementing Agile Testing and Optimization

"We'll create work, put it out into the world... optimize and put it back out again."

6. Aligning Metrics with Inclusive Goals

"We put a special emphasis on the KPI of milk being culturally relevant or fitting into my modern lifestyle."

Results

"We have really strong results behind our inclusive methodology," said Rani, noting milk sales reached a 10-year high.

Key Learnings

1. Frame inclusion as a core business strategy
2. Ensure diverse representation in your talent, influencers, and content
3. Develop KPIs around cultural relevance
4. Use digital channels for rapid testing and optimization
5. Maintain consistency with your inclusive approach

Conclusion

MilkPEP's case study demonstrates the power of inclusive marketing strategies in revitalizing a brand and driving sales growth. By embedding inclusion throughout its marketing strategy, MilkPEP reversed declining trends and increased cultural relevance, particularly among diverse young families.

This success story highlights how strategic inclusive marketing can deliver tangible business results while also increasing cultural relevance. It serves as a compelling example for other brands facing similar challenges in connecting with modern, diverse audiences.