LaCroix Sparkles With Millennials Thanks To Influencer Marketing

It’s brightly colored, a star on social media and all the cool kids are buying it. We’re not talking about the latest fashion trend, although Edina Monsoon would proudly wear it. It’s the hippest sparkling water around, sweetie. It’s LaCroix.

Once the go-to drink for Midwestern moms, LaCroix has been around for decades, but become a phenomenon among millennials in just the last few years. This rise to fame can be attributed, in part, to Americans looking for healthier alternatives to soda but is primarily driven by an all-inclusive microinfluencer strategy.

While beverage giants like Coke and Pepsi spend big on TV spots, LaCroix simply dominates right where its target audience is—Instagram. Over half (55 percent) of 18-29-year-olds are active on the platform, Pew Research found, along with 28 percent of adults.

LaCroix has a pretty decent following (21,000+) on Twitter, but it’s on Instagram that the brand really shines. With over 100,000 fans and counting, the bright packaging makes the fizzy drink a highly photogenic brand and a stylish accessory for any glamorous lifestyle photo.

LaCroix partners with influencers of all sizes to associate the flavored sparkling water with healthy choices, relaxation and having fun.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWYRTq_h5c6/?taken-by=lacroixwater

Lots of brands post on Instagram, and success is never guaranteed. So how does the brand do it? By giving users the social media attention they crave.

“Through multiple social media platforms, we strived for 100 percent consumer involvement by acknowledging all comments about LaCroix and responding to our fans on a daily basis,” writes the brand’s former digital strategist Alma Pantaloukas on LinkedIn.

You read that right—”acknowledging all comments about LaCroix.” The sparkling water encourages social media followers to use hashtags like #LiveLaCroix to get their posts (especially photos) replied to and/or shared.

The brand will share a post—with each user’s permission—regardless of their follower count, which makes it easy to get five-minutes of fame. LaCroix will acknowledge any post in which they’re tagged, but it’s no coincidence that only the most glamorous photos get shared.

By visually aligning itself with users who match the colorful, carefree LaCroix brand image, this beverage company has secured a sparkling place in millennial hearts—and shopping bags.