The Project

Launching exclusively in Dick’s Sporting Goods stores for the season opener of the 2025 NFL season, Celsius is innovating on its science-backed energy drink with its new Tart Cherry with Ashwagandha series, offering health-conscious athletes a breakthrough in fitness recovery beverages. 

Grounded in its mission to inspire its consumers to stay motivated and push past their goals, Celsius’ new Tart Cherry with Ashwagandha reminds its fearless fitness enthusiasts that rest & recovery are critical to reaching the next level of their fitness journey. 

While Celsius’ MetaPlus Blend energizes the mind and sharpens focus, the addition of Ashwagandha promotes muscle recovery– so athletes can grow stronger, faster. 

From hot yoga to NFL boot camp training, Celsius Tart Cherry with Ashwagandha is the perfect recovery companion without artificial colors or flavors.

Target Audience

This product targets health-conscious and fitness-focused Gen Z (ages 18-30) individuals that value both short-term peak performance with long-term wellness. 

From college athletes to fitness junkies, this audience seeks clean energy that fuels their workouts without harmful additives found in traditional energy drinks. Seeking to balance rigorous training with intentional recovery, a core value of this audience is ingredient transparency and holistic support that fuels their long-term health. 

Health-conscious Gen Z consumers are another core component of this product’s target audience. This audience segment similarly seeks out an energy drink that provides a clean, sustained fuel source for intentional recovery that commits to ingredient transparency. These individuals are drawn to products that derive their benefits from holistic supplements and natural ingredients formulated strategically to support energy levels.

Where Will This Ad Appear?

• OOH
  • Billboards and Posters: Strategically locate OOH around Dick’s Sporting Goods store locations in cities with a thriving culture of health & fitness and a high concentration of Gen Z residents (Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Austin). 
• Social Media 
  • Influencer Partnerships: Utilize Gen Z fitness & lifestyle influencers on short-form content platforms (TikTok, Instagram) to promote the launch. This sponsored content will showcase how they use Celsius Tart Cherry with Ashwagandha to maximize their recovery day and rest with intention.
  • Paid Social Ads: Launch a paid social media advertising campaign aligned with the start of the NFL season and lasting until mid-season. These social ads will be algorithmically tailored to Gen Z users who frequently engage with fitness and wellness content. 
• Community Activations
  • Fitness Studio Partnerships: Collaborate with trending fitness studio chains frequented by Gen Z fitness enthusiasts (Barry’s Bootcamp, Corepower, Solidcore) to create an in-person advertising activation. This activation will promote Celsius Tart Cherry with Ashwagandha to members after their workout as the healthiest way to fuel and repair muscles during recovery.

What is The Goal?

Realign Brand Image: Utilize the fitness & recovery emphasis of Celsius Tart Cherry with Ashwagandha to break away from the stigma surrounding energy drinks as only useful for their energy boosting effects. Accomplishing this goal would position Celsius as a health supplement used by athletes to reach peak performance during both active and rest days rather than a simple energy source.

Increase Market Share: As the energy beverage industry becomes more crowded, this product will expand Celsius’ share in the energy drink market by retaining the interest of its target audience.

Expand Target Audience: Grow Celsius’ audience by utilizing the NFL season opener to reach sports fans. Additionally, attract the consumer interest of professional and recreational sports athletes through launching exclusively in Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Why Do We Need This Ad?

Leading Through Innovation: When Celsius initially launched, the brand managed to create significant growth through product innovation. However, as new competitors emerge with their own unique characteristics, Celsius must expand out of the traditional boundaries of an energy beverage by entering the recovery beverage market.  

Align with Gen Z Fitness Culture: To remain positioned as an energy beverage for Gen Z athletes to reach peak performance, Celsius must continue to align itself with the evolving values of Gen Z athletes. This audience is interested in more than clean ingredients; instead, they seek a holistic, multitasking beverage that fuels their active energy and intentional recovery.

Tagline

REST HARD, TRAIN HARDER