The brief:
Our brief was to elevate the BACARDI brand among social influencers and trendsetters, to make the brand perception in SA worthy of its iconic international status. In short, make BACARDI cool again among a target market of young urbanites aged 21 – 30, LSM 8-10 looking for a good time and in constant need of being entertained. The tactic also needed to tie into BACARDI’s “better together” brand platform.
What we did:
We conceptualised and launched @TheBacardiBat, a South African Twitter account for the BACARDI brand. Instead of doing the usual, i.e. tweeting from the account according to a brand schedule, we then identified key influencers in various fields (such as music, illustration, design, social life) and started following them.
While monitoring the Twitter activity of our influencers, we looked for tactical opportunities to engage with them. Tactical opportunities included anything from a designer having a rough week to a rock band recording a new album, any time our influencers was in need of encouragement, congratulations or celebration.
Engagement came in the form of surprising and delighting tweeps with a combination wooden desk lamp / mini bar containing a complimentary bottle of BACARDI Superior rum, Coca Cola and some limes. A personalised, hand- written note mentioned the reason for the delivery and contained encouragement or congratulations depending on the situation.
Responses were overwhelmingly positive and brand mentions came thick and fast, completely unprompted or negotiated. Without any promotion @TheBacardiBat reached more than 500 followers and gained massive popularity among the target audience. Cheers to the Bat!
