“Dew It Anyway” – How Mountain Dew proven its authenticity in gaming culture

Imagine wanting to pursue the career you’re most passionate about, but being ashamed to tell your parents. In 2024, this was the reality for countless young people across Poland who dreamed of becoming content creators – a profession that ranked as both the most desired career among Gen Z and simultaneously one of the least respected in society, right alongside politicians.

Mountain Dew faced this cultural contradiction head-on. While the brand had built its global identity around supporting youth self-expression, its Polish presence felt hollow to the very audience it claimed to champion. The challenge wasn’t about brand awareness or market share – it was about proving authenticity in a world where young creators faced genuine stigma for following their passions.

The strategic insight: beyond virality

The breakthrough came through understanding that the problem wasn’t about young people lacking talent or ambition. The issue was systemic: society had failed to provide legitimate pathways and support systems for aspiring content creators. Most brands approaching this space focused on already-successful influencers with massive followings, inadvertently reinforcing the “you must be viral to be valuable” mentality.

Mountain Dew’s insight was revolutionary in its simplicity: what if a brand could provide real value to creators regardless of their current status? What if instead of just featuring successful influencers in campaigns, a brand could actually help create the next generation of successful creators?

This led to the core message that would define the entire campaign: “You don’t have to be viral to be valuable. You can do it your way – Dew It Anyway.”

Building an ecosystem, not just a campaign

The “Dew It Anyway!” initiative was conceived as a comprehensive creator development platform rather than a traditional marketing campaign. At its heart was the recognition that young creators needed three things that the market wasn’t providing: education, community, and authentic support.

The campaign launched with an open recruitment process through a dedicated landing page on the joy platform. Rather than asking for follower counts or engagement metrics, the application process focused on passion and potential. Aspiring creators were asked to submit videos explaining their creative vision and demonstrating their authentic selves. This approach immediately signaled that Mountain Dew valued authenticity over analytics.

From hundreds of applications, fifty participants were selected to join what became essentially a creator accelerator program. These weren’t the biggest names or the most polished personalities – they were young people with genuine passion and the desire to grow.

Discord as the foundation of community

The campaign’s central hub became a custom Discord server, deliberately chosen for its authentic connection to gaming and creator culture. Rather than just facilitating communication, it evolved into a living community where participants networked, learned, and supported each other’s growth. Nine educational webinars covered topics traditional creator programs ignored: legal rights, creative development, psychological resilience, and business fundamentals. These weren’t superficial “how to get more likes” sessions, but substantive education delivered by industry professionals.

The competition progressed through three skill-building stages: creative social media content, video production for TikTok and Instagram Stories with natural Mountain Dew integration, and finally live streaming with product placement alongside documentary creation about their personal journey.

inStreamly: technology meets authenticity

inStreamly’s AI-powered contextual advertising platform represented a fundamental shift in how brands could engage with gaming audiences. Rather than interrupting streams with traditional advertisements that felt forced and inauthentic, inStreamly’s technology analyzed stream content in real-time, using advanced voice recognition and contextual understanding to identify optimal moments for natural brand integration.

The technology worked by monitoring streaming content and identifying contextually relevant moments where Mountain Dew messaging would feel organic rather than disruptive. When a streamer mentioned energy, focus, gaming sessions, or related topics, the AI would seamlessly integrate Mountain Dew messaging in ways that enhanced rather than interrupted the viewing experience.

The scale of this integration was impressive. Nearly 2,000 streamers across the Polish gaming ecosystem participated, creating a comprehensive network that reached gaming audiences wherever they naturally congregated. The technology generated over 1.6 million impressions while maintaining a click-through rate of 1.62%, significantly exceeding the industry benchmark of 1.34%.

Influencer partnerships with purpose

The campaign’s influencer strategy went beyond traditional sponsorship arrangements. Mountain Dew partnered with creators like Friz and Izak not just as promotional voices, but as mentors and educators within the community. These established creators participated in webinars, provided feedback on participant content, and served as living examples that successful creator careers were possible.

This approach transformed what could have been transactional relationships into genuine educational partnerships. Friz, in particular, became a central figure in the campaign’s educational component, sharing not just promotional content but honest insights about building a sustainable creator career. His involvement generated 24 million impressions and 239,000 engagements, but more importantly, provided participants with direct access to someone who had successfully navigated the challenges they were facing.

Mountain Dew has had no marketing support for the past few years. Due to market conditions—a ban on the sale of energy drinks to people under the age of 18 and the dynamic growth of the lemon-lime segment in the CSD Flavors category—2024 was the perfect time to reactivate the brand. Our primary goal was to remind Polish consumers what Mountain Dew is, while maintaining consistency with the brand’s global positioning.

The Dew It Anyway campaign perfectly addressed this need – based on a strong, catchy insight and supported by authentic creators, it ensured wide reach and engagement. The key element was creating real value for the community – through the Discord platform and an open set of training courses for online creators. The campaign was a success: we improved marketing metrics, increased market share, won an EMMA award, and Mountain Dew remains on a growth path, so everything is going according to plan.

Bartosz Kajak, Brand Manager PepsiCo Poland

Measuring cultural impact

The campaign’s success extended far beyond traditional marketing metrics, though those were impressive in their own right.

Strategic Business Impact

• Sales value increased 33% in the first year, achieving two-thirds of the ambitious two-year target
• Market share peaked at 6.2%, exceeding the strategic goal during campaign height
• Sales growth outpaced the entire flavored carbonated soft drink segment during peak months

Brand Transformation Metrics

• Aided Brand Awareness reached 80% (+4 percentage points year-over-year) among 18-24 demographic
• Brand Clarity Index improved to 131 (vs 116 previous year)
• Purchase Consideration increased 9% versus pre-campaign period
• Top-of-Mind Awareness doubled from 16% to 33% among carbonated soft drink brands

Digital Performance Excellence

• 71.3 million total digital impressions across YouTube, TikTok, Meta, and Twitch
• 24 million influencer impressions with exceptional engagement rates
• inStreamly generated 1.6+ million contextual streaming impressions
• CTR of 1.62% exceeded industry benchmark of 1.34%

Cultural Impact Measurement

Brand Lift Study on Twitch revealed significant perception shifts:

• “Saw Mountain Dew ads on streams”: increased 16 percentage points (17% → 33%)
• “Mountain Dew supports streamers/gamers”: increased 7 percentage points (13% → 20%)
• Mountain Dew top-of-mind awareness: increased 17 percentage points (16% → 33%)

The legacy of authentic innovation

The “Dew It Anyway!” campaign succeeded because it addressed a real cultural need rather than simply promoting a product. By combining genuine educational value, lasting community building, and innovative technology, Mountain Dew created a movement that legitimized content creation as a career path. This case study demonstrates that brands providing genuine value while staying true to their authentic purpose can achieve both commercial success and positive cultural impact. The campaign created a template for supporting youth culture rather than exploiting it – and the results speak for themselves.