Release Your Darke Spirit

Background.

German-born Jägermeister was quick to infiltrate young American culture, becoming an iconic staple across bars and colleges nationwide. Now, they’re ready to expand their market. Jägermeister asked us to create an awareness campaign for Halloween, repositioning their products as a celebratory, occasion-driven delight.

Challenge.

How can we create a multi-channel, interactive campaign that elevates our positioning within the American market? What kind of creative, innovative and fun way can we connect and engage with people during a festive time of year?

Campaign.

With just an 8-week timeline, we produced a fully interactive, custom AR experience, powered by Amazon Sumerian, letting users connect with Jägermeister in an innovative and unexpected experience. We partnered with location data provider Foursquare to let users unlock this experience at over 125,000 geo-fenced locations across the US. Once activated, consumers’ cameras revealed hidden spirits haunting select bars, restaurants, and stores. Users were prompted to post a screenshot on social with #DarkeSpirit for the chance to win one of 16 exclusive Halloween party packs.

The campaign leveraged broadcast TV, programmatic ads, editorials, press mentions, and the power of social media, creating a space where their new audience could ask questions, voice concerns, or even recommend friends and family to their heavily active business profile.

Results.

The campaign generated millions of impressions in earned media, user engagement with the AR experience, and sweepstakes entries. The multi-faceted campaign earned mentions and coverage in Ad Aage, Adweek, Consumer Insights, and Content Marketer. The campaign also earned a Silver ADDY from the American Advertising Federation.

FIVE

We examined the relationship strengths between the Jägermeister brand and consumers, uncovering where, exactly, the Darke Spirit campaign would thrive and engage.

What we found was that a campaign microsite on the brand’s US-based website could serve as the centerpiece to the entire campaign, a focal point online. Through banner ads/rich media units, we could drive users to participating bars and venues. Social media polls would capture the event in real-time, and the interactive AR experience and supporting campaign collateral would directly connect consumers and the brand in an innovative and unexpected way.

ONE

Backed by the five touchpoints, we organized the campaign production and execution under a single, unified vision. We targeted audiences across digital channels and mobile devices, as well as at retail locations. Through the campaign touchpoints, the AR experience drove more traffic to participating venues, all while bolstering brand loyalty at the venue and creating social engagement through a scalable brand experience.

TWO

Over the course of the campaign, Jägermeister earned millions in engagement from tracked mobile devices across social, web, and ad networks.

But that’s only where it begins. Through earned loyalty and referred demand, brand engagement at retail locations was riding an exponential curve. Each person to interact with the advertising and AR experience would involve their group of friends and, on average, recruit three additional people to engage with the campaign at the POS and social media. A 1:4 investment ratio.