Snoop Dogg Will Be Back for Solo Stove's Next Campaign

In a surprising turn of events, American rapper Snoop Dogg is set to star in another campaign for Solo Stove, after previously starring in a brand spot that drew attention from media critics.

The new marketing initiative from the stove company and rapper is expected to drop later this year, confirmed by Solo Brands CMO Luana Bumachar and Martin Agency CEO Danny Robinson during the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. 

During a panel featuring the two executives, they unveiled a short video that teased Snoop's follow-up spot with Solo Stove accompanied by the caption "Snoop is back and he's going to sell even more f***ing stoves."

Although it can be said that Snoop Dogg's previous campaign for Solo Stove is an example of great viral marketing, it became controversial because the company decided to let go of former CEO John Merris despite the stunt putting the brand on the map.

Why? Because the campaign didn't live up to the "sales lift" the company expected, drawing widespread criticisms from creatives about their work being measured by profit.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by The Martin Agency (@martinagency)

But now, Solo Stove is bringing back Snoop Dogg and calling the marketing stunt a "success."

The viral video, which came out last November, was able to garner more than $100 million in earned media and about 19.5 billion impressions, according to the executives' discussion at Cannes Lions. 

“I believe the success of this campaign was the right talent with the right product and brought to life by the right creative idea that took risk-taking,” Bumachar shared.

Bumachar, who accepted the CMO position only in February, said she found after much research that the Snoop Dogg campaign resulted in Solo Stove’s customer acquisition cost decreasing by 22% and sales increasing by 31% in just one month.

Robinson also stressed that the campaign's business goals may be achieved in the long run, especially for an expensive product like Solo Stove fire pits, which cost hundreds of dollars.

The Controversial Campaign with Snoop Dogg

Solo Stove and Snoop's partnership began last year, when the rapper made an ambiguous Instagram post telling his followers that he is "giving up smoke."

The "Drop It Like It's Hot" artist, widely known for his love for marijuana, then went viral for his decision, with many questioning the truth.

It was later on revealed that the post was actually a marketing stunt for Solo Stove to promote its smokeless fire pit. 

 

 

 

 

 

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However, this raised questions on whether or not the spot was actually able to deliver sales for the company. 

"While our unique marketing campaigns raised brand awareness of Solo Stove to an expanded and new audience of consumers, it did not lead to the sales lift that we had planned, which, combined with the increased marketing investments, negatively impacted our EBITDA,” Andrea Tarbox, the company's former interim CFO, said last January.

Following this, the stove brand appointed PMG as its media agency on record last March.

Solo Brand's Chief Growth Officer Michael McGoohan explained that PMG's hiring "will help the brand unleash the full potential of our media capabilities."

Even then, Solo Stove said at the time that it would resume work with the Martin Agency, dubbing it as one of the creative agencies that continues to be on its roster.

Lessons Learned

Although Solo Stove later admitted that the viral marketing stunt was "extremely successful" in inserting the brand into cultural conversations, it was only after criticisms were made.

Now, Bumachar said that the brand has learned lessons from the controversial campaign and realized the importance of synergizing marketing and business goals.

“If you decide to roast a marshmallow with a blowtorch, you’re going to get it done, but you’re not going to get a great gooey marshmallow. You're going to get burned sugar," the CMO pointed out.

"What we needed is a holistic plan that aligned all the stakeholders from all functions behind the campaign and the business objectives,” she added.

It's only a matter of time before the next campaign from Solo Stove and Snoop Dogg is unveiled, and only then will we see if the brand can come back from the collaboration's previous controversy.

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Editing by Katherine 'Makkie' Maclang