Big Gulp. Slurpee. Big Bite. These are proprietary brands – and fan favorites – from the world’s largest convenience retailer, 7-Eleven, Inc. In addition to these brands, 7-Eleven also sells a variety high quality products under its private label – 7-Select.
7-Eleven’s 7-Select private label offers high-margin products, making them key revenue drivers. But while consumers no longer view private labels as mediocre knockoffs, they still meet functional needs at a more affordable cost compared to most national brands [1].
In April 2024, 7-Eleven set out to launch a new 7-Select canned sparkling water in collaboration with Miracle Seltzer. But the seltzer shelves are crowded, with established brands like Perrier and Liquid Death dominating.[2]
To stand out, 7-Eleven needed to innovate to earn attention and sales among shoppers, especially Gen Z. Gen Z is 7-Eleven’s growth target and this group drives the category with their preference for healthier, sober-curious products.[3] Gen Z is also more likely to embrace store-brand beverages and show loyalty to private labels they love.[4]
7-Eleven’s challenge was to spark interest in their new sparkling water while driving a perception and sales halo over the full 7-Select brand. Within this larger assignment, the specific objectives were:
Cultural research revealed that 41% of Gen Z drinks flavored sparkling water to stay healthy and avoid sugary and/or alcoholic beverages. There has also been a surge in social discussions from Gen Z about flavored waters, signaling an appetite for unique, experimental flavors. In some cases, the weirder the flavor the more it resonated with this target audience.
With this, we landed on our key insight: Flavor and health makes sparkling water drink-worthy with Gen Z, but humor makes it talk-worthy with Gen Z.
To stand out in the crowded sparkling water market, we looked inward for inspiration. Enter 7-Eleven’s Big Bite hot dog, an icon since 1988. But hot dogs are not just tasty, they have a massive presence in culture, especially with Gen Z and their love for “glizzies.” In 2024 alone, online mentions of hot dogs reached a volume of over 1.2 million posts with an estimated 1.05 trillion impressions.
Our opportunity was to give people a reason to associate this latest private label offering with what they love about 7-Eleven. Our strategy was straightforward: infuse personality into our private label by innovating on an icon.
When it came to execution, we drew inspiration from the anatomy of a joke. We worked with Miracle Seltzer’s flavor scientists to create Big Bite Hot Dog Sparkling Water, transforming the mouthwatering experience of 7-Eleven's iconic Big Bite Hot Dog into one refreshing beverage. Best wurst beverage in hand, we wanted to unveil it at the best time. With plans to launch the full sparkling water line at the end of March, April Fool’s felt like the perfect opportunity to release our unexpected flavor.
In honor of the humorous holiday, we executed the campaign in phases inspired by the basic structure of any joke: first the setup, then the build, all culminating with the punchline.
We inspired Gen Z to buy into - and buy - 7-Select as an innovative offering.
Communications Objective: Make Gen Z reconsider 7-Eleven
Marketing Objective: Grow 7-Select into a bold disruptor in the sparkling water category.
Commercial Objective: Boost sales of all 7-Select products.
