The Brief: Keg Cities and Social Experiments -

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK

This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover the City of Kegs, fortune-telling seals and social experiments.

JOHNNIE WALKER HITS HIGHT NOTES WITH SABRINA CARPENTER FOR GRAMMY’S WEEKEND

The event profs behind the Johnnie Walker brand continued their efforts to “Keep Walking” into pop culture moments last week with a multifaceted experiential campaign that amplified the company’s partnership with pop princess Sabrina Carpenter during Grammy Awards weekend in L.A.

The “Go Go Juice” singer’s signature Johnnie Walker Black Label Cocktail, the Go Go Highball, was the featured beverage across a series of major weekend events where the brand served as the exclusive spirits partner. But the scotch maker’s biggest experiential play took place on Jan. 31.

The evening kicked off with a drone display featuring animations, like the company’s “walking man,” alongside projection-mapped imagery tied to the partnership with the artist on an adjacent building. The outdoor showcase was followed by a Carpenter-inspired event at L.A. hotspot Max and Helen’s that included cherry-themed décor, a vintage car filled with florals and a live dj.

The Go Go Highball was also available for a taste for a limited time in select bars around the city. (Agency: Emily Reid)

Photo credit: Getty Images for Johnnie Walker

HEINEKEN’S SOCIAL EXPERIMENT PROVES ‘FANS HAVE MORE FRIENDS’

In the age of AI overload, Heineken is doubling down on the power of human-to-human interaction with its new Fans Have More Friends global sponsorship platform, which is built on the premise that fandom is one of the fastest ways to turn strangers into friends.

To launch the program with an experiential bang, the brand partnered with influencer Zac Aslop, and took a social experiment to the streets of NYC based on newly commissioned research that revealed 75 percent of consumers say their fandom has helped them meet new people, and that soccer tops the list of social connectors.

To put the data to the test, Heineken centered its efforts on Joe, an Australian friend of Aslop’s who lives in New York who said he had no one to watch Liverpool vs Qarabağ FK with, the final group match of the UEFA Champions League. To find his friend some fellow fans to watch with, Aslop posted “Have A Beer With Me’’ fliers featuring Joe’s face and a QR code around the city, directing people to the bar where Joe planned to watch Liverpool.

On the night of the match, those who had scanned the code and wanted to support a fellow fan showed up—and they showed up in droves—to surprise Joe at the bar and cheer together as the competition unfolded… All with a cold Heineken in hand, of course.

Photo: Courtesy of Heineken

THIS FAKE ATM FEATURED A FRAUD WARNING FROM EMIL THE SEAL

You know what they say—if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. So to remind consumers in London that how pervasive, and dangerous, investment-based scams are, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set up an ATM installation at Waterloo station with a message that read: “The First Billboard To Give Away A Fortune” in big, bold letters.

As commuters approached the ATM screen to cash in, they instead watched as a window slid open to reveal the FCA’s new campaign mascot, Emil the Seal. The animal delivered each participant a fortune cookie with a “fortunate” message about the perils of rushing into financial deals: “Check it’s real before you seal the deal.”

The stunt helped promote the organization’s Firm Checker, a tool designed to help people quickly verify whether or not a financial firm is genuine and authorized before signing, sealing and delivering their money to one. (Agencies: M+C Saatchi UK; M+C Saatchi Talk; M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment)

BUD LIGHT WELCOMES FANS TO THE ‘CITY OF KEGS’ AHEAD OF SUPER BOWL LX

We’re just days away from the matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Super Bowl LX, and NFL sponsor Bud Light wasted no time getting fans hyped up for the big game on both coasts over the weekend, all with an assist from a vast collection of kegs.

Yep, consumers over the age of 21 were invited to visit the “City of Kegs” activation at Lumen Field in Seattle, and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, on Sunday for a chance to win a keg’s worth of beer money or the grand prize—tickets to Super Bowl LX. All they had to do was select the winner out of 300 beer kegs planted within each arena (what a sight to behold, amirite?).

Don’t worry, the party didn’t stop there. Just ahead of the Super Bowl parade, Bud Light and the championship team will officially “tap the kegs” in a citywide ceremony. Plus, during the parade, the brand and a player from the winning squad will continue tapping kegs to celebrate with fans along the parade route. We just hope that means keg stands are involved.

Image: Courtesy of Anheuser-Busch

DUNKIN’ BRINGS SIPS AND A SPECTACLE TO THE SLOPES

We’re seeing more brands than ever activating at mountaintop resorts and outdoor sports competitions this winter, and Dunkin’ has been among those hitting the slopes. Take the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Freeski and Halfpipe Finals in Aspen, CO, where from Jan. 9-10 and Jan. 16-17, the brand kept fans on-site warm, and viewers at home interested.

Attendees in the vendor village were welcomed into a branded area where they could thaw out with the help of complimentary Dunkin’ beverages before heading up the mountain to watch the competition. On their way up the incline, fans could also snap photos in a branded gondola, with the picturesque winter scene as their backdrop.

Oh, and it was pretty hard to miss the big Dunkin’ coffee cup installation that was positioned on the mountain for maximum visibility. (Agencies: CNC Agency, strategy and creative; AMP, production)

Photos: Courtesy of CNC Agency