Brand Focus: Innocent Drinks

Sahail Ashraf posted on 7 June 2023

Innocent drinks is a fun and exciting brand. But how does it fare on social media? How does it win?

You may remember when Innocent first burst onto the scene in the late 90s. Part of the drive to bring health back into soft drinks, the rise of the company and the product was quick and impressive. Ever since then, the company has maintained a strong presence on social media, and has always been able to pull off powerful campaigns that have a huge impact.

One of the reasons for the success of Innocent on social is the ability it has to focus on the key elements of what makes a successful brand presence. It isn’t afraid to dive in and get involved with the latest trends and the most impactful platforms. 

On social, Innocent has done what the very best do. It has pulled together an approach that keeps a laser-sharp focus on being funny. This is amazing when it is done consistently, and Innocent has pulled it off. Any audience member on Instagram, for example, will see a fun, light-hearted approach to posting. And it works.

What makes the approach even more effective is the brand’s ability to not always try to be funny. There is nothing worse than a brand that tries too hard in this area. Instead, Innocent works to create humorous posts on a  semi-regular basis. This keeps the brand’s image professional but also approachable.

As an example, a recent post on Twitter used down-to-earth language to really connect with the audience. 

But before it even did any of that, the video was exceptional. The low-fi feel makes the brand relatable. It looks like it has been shot by someone who just happens to work in the Innocent office. 

The music is recognisable but cheesy enough to bring a grin to your face. And the text for the ad uses words like ‘chuffed’ and some humor to make it memorable. It’s cheeky, and it’s fun.

The authenticity thing

This is where Innocent really excels. Remember in the Tweet how it used an ordinary office desk and mentioned ‘chuffed’? That’s relatable.

Add that to a nose for the hottest trends and you have a social media approach that wins. Innocent has proven time and time again that it knows when a trend is worth following and getting involved with. 

For example, when filters were really taking off, Innocent was there to use them effectively in the videos it produced on the platform. TikTok is easily the most popular social media platform around. While it might not yet have the audience that Facebook has enjoyed, it has most definitely become part of popular culture and is very much seen as ‘cool’.

Innocent has jumped right in, and often produces quirky videos that use filters in that same cheeky way. It’s not afraid to make fun of itself and compare itself to other brands, even if it doesn’t come out in a better light. Essentially, it’s a confident approach.

What’s particularly interesting about the Innocent approach is that it creates content that gives us an insight into the lives of the brand’s social media team. It’s all very self-referential. When you see Innocent’s marketing crew talking about how they have pretty much an exhausting, thankless job, you can’t help but smile.

Innocent dominates the industry on TikTok. Add the excellent music choices to the cheeky and self-referential humor and you have a relatable brand that just wants to be part of the lives of the audience.

And, as you’ll see, the happy and jolly approach is visible on other platforms that the drinks company is involved in. Let’s take a look at the Instagram work.

Instagram and Innocent

There is no real difference here to the work that happens on TikTok. The brand is funny and lays on its own particular brand of humor. Reels are a big thing for Innocent on Instagram. This, alongside the excellent work on TikTok, shows that the brand is comfortable with video.

Here though, they are going back to single image use. This is a powerful strategy that can be used alongside short-form video to communicate the brand messages. This is perhaps the perfect example of the kind of humorous approach that wins the hearts of audiences. 

And look at how the brand uses behind the scenes photos to ramp up that reliability here. This is all the kind of stuff that brands have to master to create a solid presence on social media.

Why does Innocent work?

It works because it’s relatable. It’s a huge business, but it still posts photos of the staff at their desks. It even took a jab at the coronation of King Charles recently. No one minds. That’s because the audience knows that the brand has a sense of humor and isn’t trying to upset anyone.

If anything, all brands can learn from this. It is possible to use social media marketing as a direct extension of your brand vision. It’s what your people want, and Innocent realised this a long time ago.

Are you a social media marketing pro? Then you need to get your hands on the Locowise platform. It gives you all the data you need to hit your KPIs, time and time again.