Pony Malta is an iconic brand built on a legacy of inspiring Colombian youth to strive for excellence. For 70 years, we’ve talked about “building champions” through the lens of sports, which worked extremely well – Pony Malta is currently the #2 non-alcoholic brand in the country. However, as sports have grown to include e-sports, that traditional message wasn’t translating as well to a modern gen-z audience. They are less interested in sports and more obsessed with their screens. So, as a brand that’s beloved by gamers and has sponsored the Olympic e-sports team and the first all-female Colombian e-sports team Pony Malta felt an important obligation to breakthrough and resonate with this woefully disinterested audience.

The Brief: Inspire disinterested young gamers to get active by utilizing Pony Malta’s well-earned position as a motivator to young people.

We developed a whole new product to kick inactive young gamers in the ass… literally. A pair of smart pants that detects inactivity and “kicks” the user until they get off their butt and get active. We gave these limited edition pants to the people who would maximize their impact, the only people young gamers actually listen to – famous gaming influencers. Seeing their heroes get properly motivated in such an outrageous way finally jumpstarted the conversation. Then, we released an app to the people so anyone and everyone could get motivated and get moving. Simply turn on the app and put your phone in your pocket and any pair of pants can become a pair of Pony e-Pants.

Teens don’t listen – it’s nothing new. And when it comes to “inactivity” and “getting off their screens,” authority figures, brands, organizations, and countless others have been preaching a healthy lifestyle to them for decades. Most of which have fallen on deaf ears. So, to make our brand’s motivating message breakthrough with this notoriously reluctant audience, we knew we needed to do something unexpected. Something modern and innovative, but most importantly: funny. We also needed to meet them where they are – on Twitch and Discord. By naturally incorporating the brand into influencer content and creating a platform for them to engage in conversations with their favorite streamers we were able to maximize effectiveness.

We collaborated with expert fabricators to thoughtfully design Pony E-Pants. Everything was custom built from the ground up. The pony design was artfully crafted as an evolution of a storied branding element. The lighting, the accelerometer and electrical nerve stimulators were all carefully woven into the pants using lightweight materials, minimizing added weight and maximizing wearability. Then strategically chosen gaming influencers promoted the pants in their unique style, getting the most from their audiences. Then we released an app to the public, designed intelligently for the gaming audience. With this final piece, any pair of pants could become Pony e-Pants just by putting your phone in your pocket.

Pony Malta’s first foray into addressing this important social issue, the dangers of the sedentary lifestyle that often comes with gaming, yielded amazing results. With this success, we’ve paved the way for our brand to address this important matter in new ways down the line. Most importantly, our imaginative approach of fabricating an innovative and attention-grabbing wearable drove conversation in provocative and productive ways.

• Search for Pony Malta increased 93% in Colombia after the live stream

• Viewer engagement increased 2.2x when our primary influencer was talking about the ePants

• Viewers were very engaged with over 43,000 comments