STōK Cold Brew Coffee – Watch How a Football Sponsorship Brewed $5M in Sales and Went Viral!

STōK Cold Brew Coffee Replacement in Wrexham.

Since its launch in 2015, STōK Cold Brew Coffee has taken the ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee market by storm, doubling in size over the last three years. Despite its rapid growth, the RTD coffee category still holds only 14% household penetration, with STōK accounting for 4% of HHP and gaining traction while competitors struggle. However, data revealed a gap in brand awareness and share of voice, leading STōK to embark on its first-ever national campaign—one designed to be bold, disruptive, and impossible to ignore.

The Strategy: A Disruptive, Culturally Relevant Campaign

To cut through the noise, STōK needed a campaign that didn’t just look like advertising—it had to entertain, engage, and spark conversations. Enter Wrexham AFC, a football team that captured global attention thanks to its Hollywood-backed revival. The club, the town, and its community provided the perfect platform for STōK to make an unexpected and high-impact move: sponsoring the naming rights to Wrexham Racecourse Ground, now known as the STōK Cae Ras.

This partnership aligned perfectly with STōK’s bold personality. Sponsoring a football stadium in a country where cold brew isn’t mainstream? That’s as audacious as it gets. To introduce the sponsorship in an unforgettable way, STōK leveraged Maximum Effort, the creative agency behind Wrexham AFC’s Hollywood narrative, to craft a campaign that blended humor, culture, and brand storytelling.

The Execution: A Viral, Digital-First Approach

STōK’s campaign kicked off with the Secret Replacement video, a 30-second ad that played on the cultural contrast of Wrexham’s tea-loving traditions versus America’s cold brew obsession. The hilarious, chairmen-led prank saw Wrexham AFC players unknowingly swapping their usual teatime for STōK Cold Brew—an instant conversation starter.

To maximize impact, STōK focused its marketing firepower on a digital-first, earned-media strategy. Instead of spreading efforts thin across multiple tactics, the brand flooded digital and social channels with the campaign, ensuring that consumers couldn’t miss it. The timing was also critical—May 25, 2023, a day when media coverage surrounding Wrexham AFC was at its peak.

Sustaining the Momentum

STōK didn’t stop after the initial buzz. The brand remained front and center throughout the Wrexham U.S.A. Invasion, where the team played against Premier League and MLS teams in the U.S. STōK further cemented its presence through partnerships with the Men in Blazers podcast and targeted content running alongside the Welcome to Wrexham documentary.

The campaign culminated in early 2024 with STōK’s first-ever Super Bowl ad, featuring Sir Anthony Hopkins as Wrex the Dragon, Wrexham’s beloved mascot. The 30-second cinematic spot positioned STōK as the energy behind Sir Anthony’s fiery performance and landed the brand on AdWeek’s list of the 13 Best Super Bowl Commercials—an incredible feat for a regional ad.

The Results: Record-Breaking Growth and Brand Awareness

STōK’s partnership with Wrexham AFC delivered phenomenal results:

• $5M in incremental sales and doubled household penetration within the first three months.
• Category-leading growth: +11% HHP, +26% dollar sales, and +17% volume sales, while competitors struggled.
• 14+ billion impressions across digital, social, and earned media.
• Unprecedented Instagram engagement: 92% of the annual follower growth target achieved in just one day, 826K+ impressions above benchmarks, and a 2794% increase in reach rate.
• 365 pieces of earned media coverage across major outlets like ESPN, Associated Press, People Magazine, Adweek, and The Athletic.
• 99% positive/neutral sentiment in earned media, reinforcing STōK’s status as a culturally relevant, buzzworthy brand.

A Bold Future for STōK Cold Brew

STōK Cold Brew’s partnership with Wrexham AFC proved that thinking outside the box and tapping into cultural moments can yield massive brand growth. By combining humor, entertainment, and a truly unexpected sponsorship, STōK not only increased brand awareness but also redefined what it means to market cold brew coffee in today’s digital-first world.

As STōK continues its momentum, one thing is clear: this brand has no chill when it comes to making bold moves.