Best Nightlife Marketing Campaign

Program Name: Smirnoff Experience
Client: Diageo
Agency: Mosaic Experiential Marketing

Slick venues. Sophisticated drinks. Unforgettable nights. That’s what Smirnoff Experience was all about, as well as injecting some new life into its Smirnoff 21 Vodka and Smirnoff Ice brands. Both Diageo products had seen better days in terms of consumer awareness until the Smirnoff Experience, with its rockin’ party atmosphere, changed all that. For Smirnoff Ice, events targeted 19- to 24-year old Canadian males who consume beer, rum and vodka; Smirnoff 21 aimed at 24- to 29-year-old male spirits, beer and wine drinkers. The Smirnoff Experience targeted both groups.

To reach them, Smirnoff focused on online influencers, bloggers and musicians who shared the experience with their fan base through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Local promoters leveraged their networks of hip, young males who fit the demo to help sell tickets and drive awareness for the events.

The Experience consisted of four Tier 1 events, executed simultaneously on a single weekend in key cities across Canada. The events then rotated from city to city and were executed three more times over the course of a year, for a total of 16 Tier 1 events. Each event included an internationally recognized artist that complemented its theme.
Themes included: Future Now, a retro-futuristic party that fused the technology of tomorrow with the nostalgia of yesterday creating a surreal time-warp into a world of fantastical possibility. Electro beats, laser lights and robot chic brought the theme to life. The Warehouse theme was an old-school, warehouse rave party brought to life via industrial décor, break dancers, music mash-ups, video production and light shows. A House Party theme incorporated skateboard shows, interactive graffiti walls, video game rooms and a hot tub filled with plastic balls where attendees could chill. Carnivale featured a circus theme with dark clowns and contortionists, aerial silk performances and cotton candy. Teaser events at smaller venues in each market complemented the larger event, garnering interest and excitement with smaller components of the central themes, branding and signature drink sampling.

A Smirnoff Canada website, Facebook page and other social media sites amplified the program, while personnel in each city worked with artists, promoters and bloggers to disseminate content from the events online and place ads in key online locations. A street marketing campaign and ads in local newspapers also hyped the events.

The results were just what the doctor ordered: 8,000 target consumers were immersed in the Experience over two phases in four Canadian cities, and more than 22 million impressions made. Even better, 80 percent of retailers agreed to purchase Smirnoff in the next four weeks and 76 percent of consumers said they would return to a Smirnoff Experience.

Program Name: Most Interesting Academy
Client: Dos Equis
Agency: Mirrorball

Party people are always on the go, so to keep up beer brand Dos Equis created the Most Interesting Academy. Targeting 21- to 34-year-old affluent educated men, the program stemmed from its Most Interesting Man in the World campaign, now in its third year, which helped the brand differentiate itself in the beer market.

The academy came to life in one-day events in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago and San Diego inside unconventional venues like museums and ballrooms. Students participated in an array of courses, including Ninja Arts instructed by the world record-holding cement block breakers and Body Flying powered by a vertical turbo prop plane engine.

To build buzz for the academy the brand held flash parties featuring the MIA band, which marched each city’s streets playing instruments, twirling, dancing and juggling while inviting people to join along the way. In New York City where the program kicked off, the band was led by drummer Questlove of the Roots. The MIA also made an appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” 

The academy enrolled 26,620 students and gained 130,000 new Facebook fans since the program’s launch. Case shipments during the program increased more than 41 percent over 2008. Now that’s interesting.

Program Name: B-Live
Client: Bacardi
Agency: Javelin

Bacardi B-Live was the bash all the cool kids wanted to attend last summer. Taking over venues in 23 cities, Bacardi treated consumers to a fully immersive branded club experience with music icons as well as emerging artists, including DJs Jazzy Jeff, Tiga and Steve Porter, who mixed beats on stage with a giant old school boom box as the backdrop. Its key target was 21- to 29-year-old men who are into technology, social media and parties, especially at nightclubs.

Bacardi used Facebook and Twitter to help drive people online to buy tickets as well as download posters, badges and ringtones. On event night, the B-Live bus was parked outside the venue to draw attention and at the entrance, guests exchanged their tickets for Bacardi tokens. At the bar a Bacardi mixologist identified drinkers’ “flavor profiles” and customized a cocktail to match. Other fun activities included customized t-shirt silk-screening and a gift shop where attendees could cash in their tokens for cool swag.

B-Live generated $15.3 million in media value, an increase from last year’s $2.5 million. The event was so popular that the Independent Film Channel shot five B-Live concerts in HD, creating segments that aired on TV and online.