dark·​room | \ ˈdärk-ˌrüm  , -ˌru̇m \

noun

 

: A darkroom refers to a space where art and science come together to create something complete before premiering to the public. It’s where process and creativity combine to form a final product.

 

This is why we’ve chosen it as our name.

Case Studies Industry: Growth

Olipop

Background

We worked closely with Olipop’s creative team to develop a full-fledged advertising campaign, helping the company grow by expanding its brand identity to appeal to new demographics.

 

The ultimate good-for-you carbonated drink, Olipop debuted in 2019 as a “soda that serves a purpose,” intending to disrupt a $38 billion U.S. soft drink industry. And it’s off to a great start. Olipop created a niche in the soda market around health and functionality that it now dominates, commanding two-thirds of the market share in the space.

The Challenge

Olipop came to Darkroom as they were closing a star-studded $30M Series B, with the goal of accelerating growth and maximizing revenue year-over-year. To do this, it needed to maintain its current consumer base while expanding into new, uncharted territory.

 

From the beginning, Olipop’s bright, elevated aesthetic made it popular amongst young mothers and health-conscious women at retailers like Wholefoods. But to grow, its brand identity needed to accommodate a more national footprint at retailers like Walmart and Krogers, and to expand its appeal into the fridges and hearts of American men.

Reimagining the Brand

Darkroom helped Olipop reimagine its brand identity, creating a fully-fledged advertising campaign to reach these new target demographics. We worked closely with Olipop’s creative team to develop and produce a full-range of creative assets aimed at allowing the company to grow beyond its core female-focused audience.

 

“Living with Lily” (2022) was a campaign and advertisement inspired by Olipop’s playful, vibrant nature. It introduces us to a man who recently moved in with his partner, Lily, and is now going through the motions of living alongside her—and her plants, her questionable-looking dog, and her annoying brother.

 

On the bright side, however, she introduced him to Olipop: a drink both good for her, and good for you too. The narrative is designed to appeal to both men and women in a single swoop, and it did so successfully. “Living with Lily” has been running since early 2022.

What we did
  • Creative strategy and ad conceptualization
  • Video production
  • Performance creative editing and asset cut down

VYBES

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Background

We helped VYBES grow by re-engineering their digital experience and increasing online-store conversion by 40%.

 

VYBES is a Los Angeles based beverage brand dedicated to improving their customers’ health and wellbeing through natural plant derivatives. The company sells Hemp CBD beverages and has expanded into candles and apparel – evolving into a cohesive lifestyle brand dedicated to health and wellness. VYBES’ bold, colorful packaging makes it one of the most Instagrammable products in the market.

Outcomes

40%

increase in online-store conversion

56%

Increase in attributable email
revenue within 90-days

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“We hired Darkroom to help us grow our online sales and the changes they recommended and instituted have helped us increase online store conversion by almost 40%.”
Jonathan Eppers, Founder VYBES avatar
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Customer Retention

VYBES’ loyal customer base eagerly anticipates new brand developments and collaborations, making Email and SMS essential mediums for communication. Darkroom put into motion robust retention campaigns for VYBES, and continues to manage their strategy and implementation.

 

Email Performance

Email campaigns and automations boast some of the highest success metrics in the e-commerce food and beverage space. Darkroom helped implement new email campaigns that resulted in a 56% increase in attributable email revenue within 90-days.

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Technology

Darkroom also helped re-engineer the VYBES digital experience to bring customers new functionality – including robust subscription features and a cleaner user interface that lets the VYBES brand shine. These changes all with a view toward compounding user retention. The result was a 40% increase in online-store conversion.

 

Intelligent Email Flows

Next, we tested email templates to identify high-performance copy and creative, tested different send-times, and implemented lead nurture flow (30-day) where warm leads are revisited. We also optimized for the seasonality of the swimwear market and notified prospective customers of seasonal sales and price drops. These changes helped Maaji reduce the average time between first and second orders from 65 days to 12 days.

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“I would highly, highly recommend Darkroom to any brand who is looking for easy and smart strategies that grow their customer base, improve online conversion and build stronger relationships with their customers.”
Jonathan Eppers, Founder VYBES avatar
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What we did

Technology

  • E-Commerce Strategy
  • Web Development
  • Ongoing Web Support
  • QA & Implementation

 

 

Design

  • Editorial Content
  • E-commerce Content

 

 

Growth Marketing

  • Paid Social Ads
  • Email & SMS Marketing
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