JBL, an audio powerhouse with a rich history, faces a tough challenge in the earbuds market. Despite its iconic status and extensive product range, JBL struggles to compete with dominant players like Apple, Beats, Bose, and Sony. With only a 6% market share in North America and fierce competition from mobile giants like Apple and Samsung globally, JBL aims to break through the wireless earbuds market.

The key to success lies in selling more premium earbuds ($100+) in a category driven by value. Despite offering a wide range of affordable options, JBL needs to shift consumer preferences away from mainstream choices like Apple Airpods.

Launching a campaign in Q4 2023 (16th October - 31st December), JBL aimed to challenge Apple's dominance and persuade consumers to opt for something different from the standard white earbuds.

We set off with a big idea: JBL MAKES EARBUDS (FOR EVERY- ONE)

For every one-of-one, that is. For those who zag when the world zigs; live unfiltered; wear their passion on their sleeve.

The campaign needed to find the right motley crew of Eardividuals, a fun moniker for the talent we want to cast: From a nail artist to DJs, painters to an up-and-coming popstar duo, and even a dancing weatherman, JBL wanted to put the spotlight on creative mavericks bursting with individuality and passion.

All campaign elements featured JBL’s new innovation: the Tour Pro 3, with a first-of-its-kind touchscreen earbuds case that lets you control how you listen.

JBL Makes Earbuds (for Every-One) was brought to life through video, social, OOH, and a record-breaking in-store activation

Hyping the Brand through PR: Positioning JBL as the epitome of discernment and a departure from mainstream wireless earbuds.

Utilizing a mix paid, owned, and earned channels we launched at Amazon’s Life is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas. We crafted a bold and distinctive brand attitude, encouraging consumers to start confidently choose JBL over the standard headphone options.

Building Social Currency among audio nerds and creators across communities, we began to cultivate positive associations with the brand and product. We focused on niche personalities with engaged followings rather than the run-of-the-mill reach social stars.

Highlighting the brand's uniqueness, we introduced the 'Ear-N-Vasion of the JBLiens' influencer activation, tapping into conversations about extraterrestrials with JBL's distinctive characters. Partnering with pop artist Flyana Boss, we launched their single "UFHO" with a listening event at the JBL SoHo store, followed by a music video collaboration that amplified the message of individuality.

JBL Makes Earbuds (for Every-One) is a global campaign that spanned 17 markets, 16 languages, and 600+ placements in the U.S. alone. All featuring up-and-coming buzzy influencers.

JBL Makes Earbuds (For Every-One) was the biggest media investment by JBL North America that focuses on wireless earbuds – which could be said to have the biggest impact on the overall category familiarity lift. This complimented our approach to PR because we were a challenger brand in the category being outspent by the leaders. We needed to earn as much as we spent and working with a mix of influencers and creators enabled us to hit our audiences from multiple directions with authenticity and scale.

The secret to our campaign's success was casting our up-and-comer influencers as the main hero talent in our advertisement. By giving them a platform, these Earfluencers influenced the influencers.

For the first run on JBL’s new wireless earbuds strategy, we are starting to see accelerated momentum for the brand in the category. Results were what we hoped for but did not expect to see, especially in this highly competitive space against established players years ahead in the wireless earbuds race.

#1 Business Objective: Strengthen position in premium-tier wireless earbuds. Results: ACCELERATED SALES OF PREMIUM-TIER SKUS

+179% value sales revenue (almost 3x) in $100+ wireless earbuds, year-on-year (YoY) Q4 2023. +56% volume sales of $100+ JBL wireless earbuds, YoY Q4 2023.

JBL’s wireless earbuds business has historically struggled to gain a foothold in the premium-tier segment, pushed out by leading brands who sell well at higher price-points. Results sharply demonstrate retailers’ and consumers’ newfound willingness to buy JBLs at a higher price-points, compared to a year ago.

#2 Marketing Objective: Get JBL noticed in the wireless earbuds category. Results: INCREASED CATEGORY FAMILIARITY. +36% annual growth in JBL’s familiarity in the wireless earbuds category in 2023; from 46 percentage-points to 63 percentage-points

#3 Marketing Objective: Pique interest in JBL wireless earbuds. Results: INCREASED ACTIVE CONSIDERATION. +15.28% search volume for “JBL” YoY Q4 2023; from 55.91 to 64.45 average index.

#4 Marketing Objective: Move consumers to act. Result: RECORD-BREAKING SITE TRAFFIC. +153% Unique Pageviews on JBL.com, YoY Q4 2023

A week from campaign launch drove the most traffic to JBL.com ever, 5x a typical Saturday.