The challenge
Whiskey and beer are the most popular alcoholic drinks in Uruguay. So Bacardi has to work hard to win market share for its rum-based products. The challenge was to build brand awareness and grow sales by creating a campaign to engage young adults – within tight budgetary constraints.
Our insight
Young Uruguayan adults love to mix with old and new friends, to have fun and share experiences.
Our solution
The previous year, Bacardi had run a TV campaign based on the idea of mixing – mixing people, mixing drinks. They wanted to extend the theme of mixing but without the expense of a TV commercial. Our solution was to stage two exclusive Mix-Parties and to harness the power of social media to generate excitement and enthusiasm around these events.We used Facebook to build a guest list for the parties. Over half of all young adults in Uruguay have a profile on the social networking site, which is the country's second most popular online destination. We asked consumers to sign up as fans and send in pictures of themselves and four friends to enter a raffle for a party invitation.
The event activation was seeded initially through radio and TV program integration, driving would-be partygoers to our site, where they could chat, have fun, win prizes and make new friends as if they were at a virtual Bacardi party. The lucky winners were invited to the exclusive Mix-Parties, where they enjoyed dancing, chatting and meeting new friends. The events subsequently generated plenty of valuable online buzz and positive word of mouth for the Bacardi brand.
The results
- Year-on-year sales increase of 148% in November
and 37% in December - 1,500 fans in one month
