unique boozy community-centered engagement
Zillennials don’t want to be sold to; they want to be 'let in' on a secret. The Starting XI shifts away from transactional marketing, and leverages a highly visible sporting event amd collaborates with local bartenders to co-create an in-the-know experience for the global audience.
Creative Direction, Deck Design
Role
Creative Director, Designer
Duration
>1 Week
Skills
Presentation, Communication, Information Design
Tools
Figma, FigJam
Occasion
Sports and Alcohol
Because we are capitalizing on the daytime social, sports had an important link to daytime drinking habits within the American culture. Additionally, Ketel One already does work with the Inter Miami FC, so soccer was the natural choice.
Value 1
Family for All
We wanted people, both participating bars and participants, to feel like they too are part of the Ketel One family. At the end of the day, we want people to feel taken care of.
Location
Young and Aspirational
We can leverage 3 important things in LA: It has a strong Zillennial demographic (around 23.4% of the population). LA has the the FIFA World Cup in 2026, Super bowl in 2027, and the Olympics in 2028. We're setting ourselves up for success on the long term. Lastly, the sunny beaches and outgoing lifestyle is a strong fit for Ketel One's aesthetic DNA.
Value 2
Amplifying talent
Ketel One has historically not run a lot of traditional ads, famously only running its first ad in America after 1.2 million cases were being sold annually. To continue this quiet marketing trend, Ketel One will gave a global platform for talented local bartenders.
Value 3
Sustainability and Safety
Ketel One seeks to continually innovate, and more recently they've also been considering their carbon footprint. Ketel One has an opportunity in LA's car dominated city to make a statement on a sustainable future.
Hospitality
Family for All
We wanted people, both participating bars and participants, to feel like they too are part of the Ketel One family. At the end of the day, we want people to feel taken care of.
Local
Amplifying talent
Ketel One has historically not run a lot of traditional ads, famously only running its first ad in America after 1.2 million cases were being sold annually. To continue this quiet marketing trend, Ketel One will gave a global platform for talented local bartenders.
Value 3
Sustainability and Safety
Ketel One seeks to continually innovate, and more recently they've also been considering their carbon footprint. Ketel One has an opportunity in LA's car dominated city to make a statement on a sustainable future.
Secret Media Network
Keeping you in the know
The Secret Media is a major hyperlocal publisher. Despite its scale, Secret Media Network models itself being a hyperlocal newsletter, and more "if you know, you know" word of mouth marketing. So this way, even if we're running lots of advertising on the platform, the this still follows Ketel One's word of mouth marketing philosophy and feels more earned while reaching the desired audience.
Bar Social Strategy
The Starting XI
Ketel One documents and releases a short series titled the Starting XI, and offers a behind the scenes look as these different bars research and development process new drinks utilizing Ketel One products. By highlighting the bartender and not the product, there brings a level of authenticity that others can not. There’s also an opportunity for this series to take on an educational slant, as bartenders take lesser known products and ingredients, which appeals to the home bartending community.
Fever Social Strategy
Stay for the Sunset
Fever will promote the bar crawl on our channels, titled “Win the Day, Own the Night”, encouraging an earlier day time bar crawl. This positions the experience as: Drink earlier in the day after the game, sober up for dinner, watch the sunset, and drive him avoiding traffic while getting the rest of the night to unwind.
Secret Media Network
High Visibility Campaign
Overall what this looks like is a high visiblity campaign that calls to attention Ketel One's careful care to quality, community, and innovation. Additionally how we're positioning the advertsing, activation location, and collaborations we will maintain a quieter, more earned sense of discovery. The care we're putting in the community will help position Ketel One as a luxury brand that knows to puts people first. Even though the core marketing will be on the Secret Media Network platform, organic social media posts will drive word of mouth advertising and further expand the reach of this campaign.
