A Step-by-Step Breakdown of Don Julio’s Global, Creator-first ‘194구’ Campaign -

In the age of influence, it pays to partner with a global icon. And that’s exactly what Tequila Don Julio 1942 had in mind when it launched its first-ever worldwide product collab alongside renowned South Korean dj, producer and fashion influencer, Peggy Gou.

The brand dug into its deep roots in the nightlife scene to execute a 360-degree program in partnership with Gou (pronounced “goo”) that blended spirits, music and fashion across global pop-up celebrations, VIP events, OOH elements, stunts, a collectors bottle designed by the creator, and a limited-edition capsule collection, all anchored by a mashup of the company’s logo and the Korean symbol for Gou (구). With a strong visual identity, its high-profile partnership and a penchant to drive consumers’ “irrational desire” to choose its liquid during celebratory nightlife moments, Don Julio’s “194구” was born.

The campaign launched in New York City, April 1-2, with pop-up “Gou’s News” kiosks offering 1942 tastings and a chance to buy the collectors bottle in SoHo and Midtown, and a “Gouvenir Shop” in Tribeca that operated as a speakeasy hidden behind a souvenir shop façade, where attendees had a chance to be among the first to snag the limited-edition bottle and enjoy complimentary tastings. Don Julio then went on to activate in London, Milan and Seoul, before wrapping the program on April 29 in Hong Kong.

As the tequila category continues to thrive, the multilayered campaign was designed to trigger a trickle-down effect that would drive off-premise and at-home purchases of the 1942 varietal, and solidify it as the drink of choice during nightlife occasions, versus competitors in the premium tequila tier. And Gou was the thread that wove it all together.

“Sometimes when we’re doing limited-editions or we’re trying to create collectibles of our products, we’re only thinking about releasing the product and we’re not thinking about the intersection of different consumer passion points and interest,” says Sophie Kelly, svp-global tequila and mezcal categories at Diageo. “And one of the things that’s so good about Peggy is the blend of, she’s an amazing dj and she’s an icon of nightlife, which is exactly where [people] consume the product.”

To learn more about the 194구 collaboration and how the experiential programming was planned and produced, we tapped Kelly for her top tips and takeaways.

Choosing the Right Influencer

Finding an influencer partner to serve as the face of a global campaign was the biggest challenge for Don Julio because, as Kelly puts it, “Most cultural, iconic collabs are born of local market, and finding someone who has that unified appeal, that plays to the occasion, the moment you’re consumed in, is super difficult.”

Fortunately, the multihyphenate artist was just the ticket. Gou’s influence spans multiple cultures and passion points, and, just as important, she’s a genuine fan of the brand.

“We worked with someone who is an adorer of the brand. She loves 1942. So she saw this [collab] not just as something she was alongside, but her creation,” Kelly says. “So it was two parts: It was her love for the brand, and the amazing intersection that she represents between music and fashion and creativity.”

Tackling Untapped Markets

Don Julio had a few criteria for deciding which markets to activate in. On the practical side, they had to be locations where Gou would be performing. On the aspirational side, the brand was focused on making its mark not only in “iconic cities” with a robust nightlife, but in parts of the world that are “outside of traditional or more developed tequila markets,” Kelly explains.

“North America and Latin America, in particular Mexico, are more developed, secure [tequila] markets, but the rest of the world is still developing,” she says. “A lot of the markets are less than 5-percent penetration. It’s hot, hot, hot, but many people don’t know where to find it or what to buy. The spirits category for tequila is growing three times faster than any other spirits category, and we are leading that charge in markets like Southeast Asia and Southern Europe… So this kind of [experiential] activity fuels people’s desire to understand more about the brand and the category.”

Adding a Local ‘Topspin’

In each cultural hub where Don Julio 194구 had a presence, Kelly says it was critical to infuse local flare to ensure the brand was resonating with the community on an authentic level. To that end, the brand aimed to create quintessential experiences and environments, like a pop-up deli in New York, a stylish event at Piazza Mentana during Design Week in Milan, and a high-energy rooftop celebration at Lau Haa Hot Pot restaurant in Hong Kong. The company also worked with local influencers in the music, nightlife and fashion spaces in each locale for further amplification.

“The key objective was to continue to drive irrational desire, continue to own that moment in the on-premise of iconic celebration and do it with someone who was relevant, to scale, even though when we executed in the cities, we put a local ‘topspin’ on those activations… which makes them even more relevant,” Kelly says.

Leaning into Drop Culture

Most brands offering a limited-edition capsule these days are leaning into drop culture by hyping up the collection ahead of its debut to boost demand and catapult street cred. Such was the case for Don Julio. Between the collectible 194구 bottle and lineup of Gou’s cowboy hats, keychains, scarves and other accessories available at each stop, the brand had plenty of ammo to lure fans with, and strategically teased the merch before popping up in each city.

“It was important to us to, like any fashion drop, have a pop-up that people could hear about, find out about, line up for, experience over a certain amount of days,” says Kelly. “When you hear about a designer and they’re having an outlet sale, this is the experience we wanted to create—the music, fashion and collectible experience.”

The Integrated Effect

Don Julio took a calculated approach to 194구, pulling multiple engagement levers at strategic times to produce an integrated program. With the limited-edition bottle designed by Gou serving as the centerpiece, the campaign launched with a cinematic digital spot. The brand then started teasing the broader campaign with cryptic 194구 logo placements in high-traffic locations, while Gou began sporting the branding at her shows, and staged paparazzi-style photos of global stars wearing the custom merch fueled more speculation.

Striking OOH takeovers, including digital billboards and projection mapping, then extended the visual story across the brand’s tour stops. Finally, IRL experiences, including the pop-ups, as well as airport experiences hosted in terminals at Dubai International Airport and London Heathrow Airport (where 1942 sales were boosted by 20 percent, year-over-year), completed the program.

“What it does is it puts heat into the market because people can start to discover or learn about [a product] in a multitude of ways, therefore creating the demand, therefore creating the attendance, therefore creating the purchase,” Kelly says.

The Results

Before Don Julio even landed in Seoul or Hong Kong, the brand had racked up more than 2.5 billion global earned media impressions from its activations, and Gou had shared over 100 organic, unpaid pieces of content related to the campaign.

“This [campaign] is pretty special. I am proud of everything we’ve done,” says Kelly. “And it’s recruiting new people into tequila at a premium price point. So it has a halo effect on the rest of the business.”