| New York City Football Club is a little more mellow this year with Leilo as the team’s Official Relaxation Partner. What is Leilo? It’s a carbonated beverage made from kava, a plant from the Pacific Islands that has sedative and euphoric effects in drinks made from its root. The team created the “relaxation partner” category specifically for the Leilo sponsorship. Since launching last fall, Leilo (pronounced “lay low”) has deployed a data-driven grassroots movement with out-of-the-box sponsorships, as well as digital channels that stitch together the largely local communities that drink kava beverages and the patchwork of stores that sell Leilo. Thus far, Leilo’s methods provide a useful blueprint for any product looking to break into a new category. They seek to connect directly with each and every customer and prospect and build a community around them. For Leilo, this involves getting as many emails and SMS numbers as possible from passionate fans on social media and at in-person events like soccer matches and reaching out to them using marketing automation platform Klaviyo. At the heart of Leilo’s grassroots presence is a geography-based community platform called Grog Maps, with whom Leilo is partnering. The app was developed by Founder, Samuel Morales. When users download the app and share their location, they can find the closest place to get kava. Grog Maps allows kava enthusiasts to create their own accounts and connect with like-minded individuals and post messages about the kava bars they visit. It also allows sellers to connect with the platform. Read more here. » | 