‘Quitters Welcome’: NEFT Vodka Flips the Script on Fitness Resolutions with The Gym Pop-up -

NEFT Vodka builds community with tongue-in-cheek ‘gym’ activations

Dry January isn’t for everyone, and by now, gym attendance is waning. But NEFT Vodka is saying it’s OK if you dropped your New Year’s resolution early. In fact, the brand created a safe space where “all quitters are welcome” with no judgment, according to Neesin Williams, creative director at NEFT Vodka, and that’s The Gym by NEFT.

The tongue-in-cheek activation popped up back-to-back in Austin, TX, and L.A., Jan. 21-22, to serve up premium vodka instead of protein shakes in a fully themed environment. When attendees arrived, the first thing they noticed was a 1980s-style video of an old-school gym bro telling them the right way to vodka, and then they followed a “Sip This Way” sign into The Gym. There, they received branded swag like t-shirts and barbell plate coasters.

A dj kept the energetic exercise vibe up, and the space was filled with NEFT-logoed barrels, lockers, motivational posters (to drink better vodka), exercise equipment and prop weights.

“We didn’t really want to say, ‘Take a photo here,’ and we didn’t have BAs walking around. If you were to walk into a gym, what would you do with that equipment?” Williams says. “People just happen to sit on them and take pictures or put their drinks in the lockers. The prop weights looked like 225 pounds, and you could lift them to show how strong you are.”

Luke Barr, NEFT Vodka’s master mixologist, designed the gym-inspired cocktail menu that included a blackberry and mint “Spa Water,” “Not a Burpee” with activated charcoal and, the event’s smash-hit beverage, “Matcha My PR” with chilled green matcha. More than 300 cocktails were served in L.A.

As to why NEFT chose Austin and L.A. for its pop-up bar, Williams says they are two of the brand’s thriving markets and it’s looking to build and support community in these cities, particularly among bartenders and mixologists, whom he calls the brand’s No.1 influencers because they’re “going to talk about us when we’re not there.” Community-based social sites like Bucket Listers also helped drive attendance.

“We’re not just showing up in these places. We have feet on the ground. We have roots there (with our offices), so whatever we activate, we have a sense of what’s going to appeal to that community,” he says. “Us hosting it in Austin and then in LA didn’t feel like, ‘Oh, they’re just choosing these bar communities.’ No, we already have community there, and we know that The Gym will work in our L.A., Austin, Miami, New York markets and beyond. It’s about being authentic and approaching it as part of the brand and culture.”

In a few weeks, The Gym by NEFT will be headed to the U.K., but Australia, along with other U.S. cities, is on the horizon for activations. The brand will be showing up at certain Formula 1 races this year, as Official Team Partner of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. At November’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, it hosted a two-day watch party at The Palms Casino Resort’s Empathy Suite. Music festival and sustainability activations are also in the works.

“One thing we wanted to make sure of was that we were not poking fun at anyone trying to make a health change or stick to a goal. We want to support that. The Gym by NEFT is about if you are going to drink vodka, we’re going to give you a better option that is not exclusive, but inclusive,” Williams says. “Experiential, connectivity, giving people moments are important, especially today. Those things last longer than just flash-in-the-pan (social media) post.” Agency: INNOCEAN USA.