Project
TOMS Roasting Co. Coffee Launch
Client
TOMS
Awards & Recognition
Deliverables
  • – Strategy
  • – Video
  • – Social
How do you hype a new product launch when you can’t talk about the product?

TOMS CEO Blake Mycoskie founded the One for One movement that gives a pair of shoes or glasses to a needy child for every pair purchased.

His challenge: create advance buzz around a secret new TOMS product that, with each purchase, provides one week of clean drinking water to a person in need.

The product? Coffee. In one stroke, TOMS was tying the everyday ritual of coffee-drinking to its deeper connection with the world at large: the water required for brewing that we take for granted, and the farmers in disadvantaged nations who produce our daily cup.

But even at Blake’s keynote ‘reveal’ speech at SXSW, the product would not be identified. Attendees would be asked to buy this mystery product simply on the premise that it provides water to someone else. Once influencers experienced it, word of mouth would take care of the rest.

Purchasing this unknown product was a risk worth taking on behalf of the less fortunate. Just one decision. How many do we make each day? And how many affect the lives of others?

We shaped the narrative of our teaser video around those decisions. Blake then framed his SXSW keynote speech around our #OneDecision theme.

#OneDecision and #TOMSRoasting trended nationwide on Twitter and TOMS coffee sold out in three and a half days.

We kicked off a social campaign with an anthemic video about the power of one decision.
Play Video
For the next five weeks, we created buzz and seeded clues.
Then Blake Mycoskie announced the new product launch during his SXSW keynote speech — without naming the product.
Play Video
30
days
(client's goal for selling out its coffee)
7
days
(our goal for selling out client's coffee)
3.5
days
before supplies sold out