Maurten Unofficial
Maurten
Issue 57 | December 2020
Agency
Åkestam Holst NoA
Creative Team
Creative Director: Magnus Jacobsson Art Directors: Hugo Wallmo, Anderas Karlsson Copywriters: Petter Nylind, Noah Bramme
Production Team
Film production: Halal Amsterdam Production Manager: Agneta Oppenheim Agency Producer: Leila Widgren Creative Designer: Kenna Magnusson Graphic Designers: Theresa Lee Zonars, Magnus Pettersson
Other Credits
Planner: Karl Wikström Account Manager: Nicole van Rooij Head of Brand (Maurten): Philip Ahlqwist Head of Communication (Maurten): Herman Reuterswärd Head of Sales and Distribution (Maurten): Juan Repetto
Date
July 2019
Background
Maurten was an innovation in sports – a carbohydrate gel and sports drink based on hydrogel technology, helping elite athletes perform without side effects or the stomach problems and cramps that are a common problem with energy supplement products. The challenge? Many elite athletes used Maurten under the radar, as they’re already sponsored by other brands – global giants with budgets Maurten cannot compete with. Making it difficult for Maurten to reap the fruits of this success. So Maurten decided that if they could not win on raw strength, they could instead outwit their opponents and turn a problem into a strength.
Idea
The product was the idea: Maurten Unofficial. An un-branded product range designed for athletes sponsored by others. Targeted at everyone who wants to benefit from the Maurten hydrogel technology, without breaking contracts. A product range that sparked the interest of the target group, and got picked up by several retailers besides being sold at the very incognito site maurten.com/unofficial. Unofficial was the same as the official Maurten products that many elite athletes used – under the radar – but in incognito packaging, mixed in bottles with pixelated logos and delivered in anonymized boxes. Even the Unofficial site was without visible logos. Maurten Unofficial not only covered an invisible part of the market, it also doubled as an excuse to highlight the phenomenon of elite athletes using it under the radar – but in a humble way, saying that they always put athletes first, even if it means covering up their own logo. A new product that has a market of its own, but helps pushing the original product simply by highlighting the purpose of its own existence.
Results
The number of visitors to Maurten's site increased by 146% compared to the previous period (over 100% higher than the set target of 40%). Products from Maurten Unofficial were sold for a total value of € 14,231 (more than double the target) and the Unofficial Gel sold out completely. Total revenue on the site increased by 28% - well above the set target of 5%.