How Solo Stove’s viral Snoop Dogg partnership won big praise and even bigger criticism

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Solo Stove has been around for 13 years now. But a lot of folks hadn’t heard of them up until November when their PR stunt with Snoop Dogg went viral.

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The campaign has gotten quite a bit of attention and, more recently, criticism from marketers and advertisers.

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The question is, is it warranted?

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This week, Case Studied examines how Solo Stove’s campaign with Snoop Dogg went down, and whether it was a swing, a miss, or… too soon to tell.

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The Brief:

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Solo Stove, owned by parent company Solo Brands, makes smokeless fire pits, pizza ovens, and other outdoor appliances. To execute the brand’s first national, awareness-focused marketing push, they partnered with The Martin Agency

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The agency proposed a slew of pitches for campaign concepts and when Solo Stove’s then-CEO John Merris saw Snoop Dogg’s photo in the mix, he thought the 52-year-old rapper would be the perfect face for it.

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The Execution:

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The campaign started with a post shared on Snoop’s Instagram and X accounts to his combined 104m followers. It stated, “After much consideration & conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this time.”

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That post went up Nov. 16, 2023 and caused an immediate stir. Speculation spiked fast.

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Was it a PR stunt?

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Could Snoop Dogg actually be serious about the statement?

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Was he about to come out with a “smokeless” weed product like edibles or a vaporizer?

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Two days later, Snoop posted again—this time a photo of himself, eyes closed, with the caption “Natural high ⏰🎶.” The speculation continued.

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A few days after that, the answer to all the questions finally arrived. Snoop Dogg revealed his partnership with Solo Stove in a social video that featured the rapper sitting in front of the brand’s smokeless fire pit. “I’m going smokeless. Solo Stove fixed fire. They took out the smoke. Clever.”

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The Results:

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At first, Solo Stove received heaps of praise for the viral Snoop Dogg campaign. The stunt racked up 31m likes, comments, and shares across its campaign content on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X. It generated 1.2m brand mentions in social posts and news articles, not to mention a total value of $43.5m in exposure.

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Solo Stove gained some 60k new followers on social, and global news coverage amassed over 19.5b overall impressions, worth an estimated $37.5m in media value. To top it off, Ad Age ranked the collaboration #18 on its list of the 40 best ads of 2023.

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So why the sudden negative criticism?

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Less than two months after the campaign went live, Solo Stove parted ways with its President, CEO, and Director of the Board, John Merris. In a statement, Interim CFO Andrea Tarbox noted the brand’s recent marketing campaigns haven’t resulted in an increase in revenue.

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“While our unique marketing campaigns raised brand awareness of Solo Stove to an expanded and new audience of consumers, it did not lead to the sales lift that we had planned, which, combined with the increased marketing investments, negatively impacted our EBITDA,” Tarbox said.

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Because of Merris’s departure, the narrative of the Snoop Dogg campaign changed from being a huge win to a big ol’ flop. But before you come to your own conclusions, consider the assumptions and projections that fuel the negative press.

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Solo Stove might have moved on from Merris, regardless of the campaign’s performance. Their parent company as a whole hasn’t been doing well in the market, with their stock down over 80% since their IPO in 2021.

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Is it fair to attribute the leadership change to one campaign?

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This campaign was also very recent. They’re barely two months out from it so we’re only hearing about the early results. And what about the customer buying journey: how long does it typically take Solo Stove customers to go from awareness to consideration to purchase a $300+ fire pit? People who saw the campaign could, or could not, convert and buy later in the year.

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And speaking of revenue, if the company’s entire Q4 goal was riding on one campaign, missing that target doesn’t necessarily mean the campaign failed. It could be an indicator of poor decisions throughout the year or relying too heavily on a hail mary pass.

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So, is Solo Stove’s Snoop Dogg campaign a marketing lesson on how brand awareness doesn’t always equate to sales? Is it a cautionary tale about taking big, creative swings? A matter of coincidental circumstances and lazy reporting?

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Time may, or may not, tell.

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The Takeaways:

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There are a lot of learnings to take away from the Solo Stove stunt with Snoop Dogg. And many of them will depend on your interpretation of the campaign. Regardless of your take, here are a few that stood out to us:

1. Awareness doesn’t equal action

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The Solo Stoves campaign is a great reminder that even the most impactful campaigns might not drive immediate results.

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After the stunt with Snoop Dog, no one can argue that a LOT more people know the brand, but the question is, is it the right audience and will they ever become customers?

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2. Marketing is a long-term investment

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Marketers have become obsessed with fast growth. Perhaps the result of digital marketing, so many of us have become conditioned to adopt a direct response mindset, where customers go from click to purchase in a single session.

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The reality is, that marketing has evolved, but not to the extent we might realize.

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Customers still take the most unpredictable buying journeys, many of which take weeks, months, or even years.

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The true impact of this campaign won’t be realized for a long time.

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3. We never know the full story

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The Case Studied team was very excited to cover this story as it’s a rare look into the before and after of a campaign, relatively soon after it launches.

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And yet it is also a cautionary tale that we never truly get the full picture behind the most heralded or scrutinized marketing efforts.

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That’s why it’s crucial as marketers to remain as objective as possible when seeking inspiration for our own work.

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