Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila on Monday introduced a social media marketing campaign and accompanying product launch meant to faucet into Gen Z’s fixation on “little deal with tradition,” or small indulgences, and bridge style with performance. The efforts are tied to the model’s celebration of what it payments as 818 Day (Aug. 18).
“Free the Nip” — a cheeky nod to the “free the nipple” motion — reimagines the traditional shooter as not solely a minibar staple, however a style must-have, a course impressed by the youthful cohort’s allegiance to expressive purchases like Labubu dolls and lip gloss keychains. The marketing campaign serves to introduce the model’s new 818 Minis, that are 50ml bottles of 818 Tequila’s Reposado and Blanco merchandise, and can embrace influencer activations and content material that includes the product in on-the-go situations and surprising locations.
818 Minis will roll out nationwide in September. Moreover, the model created limited-edition collectible bundles that includes 818 Mini Bag Charms that maintain the 818 Minis that shall be out there on Gopuff beginning Sept. 8 at 12 p.m. ET. The minis launch technique sees the marketer working in a manner sometimes reserved for manufacturers in classes like magnificence, defined Kathleen Braine, CMO at 818 mother or father Calabasas Beverage Firm.
“As a spirits model, you’re not all the time in a position to take part in among the enjoyable developments on social that magnificence manufacturers get to do, and this can be a enjoyable manner of us sort of tongue-in-cheek placing the mini in an area that would usually be crammed by a lip gloss or a hair clip,” Braine stated.
The newest transfer from 818 Tequila continues the model’s concentrate on tapping into tradition, which it has achieved via different latest efforts together with its first nationwide sports activities partnership with NASCAR driver Toni Breidinger. These efforts have helped the model defy business odds — although the tequila class as a complete solely grew 2% in quantity final yr, 818 noticed 40% year-over-year quantity progress, per information shared by the model.
Braine has served as 818 Tequila’s CMO for 2 years, however has been with the corporate for over 4 years. Advertising and marketing Dive lately spoke with the chief to study extra concerning the model’s method to advertising and marketing round tradition and her ideas on the more and more crowded social media panorama.
The next interview has been edited for readability and brevity.
Advertising and marketing Dive: What insights knowledgeable your determination to faucet into the “little deal with” pattern, and the way does it align with 818’s model ethos?
KATHLEEN BRAINE: We’ve all the time been about shared moments between family and friends and magical moments — that’s an enormous pillar of our model — and I feel this extension into a distinct dimension made us suppose, not solely are we about these magical moments, however we’re greater than only a conventional spirits model, we’re really extra like a life-style model in that we talk about issues in a life-style method.
We’re pondering that is such a cool alternative to function our minis in not the normal manner that minis are featured — they’re form of confined to an airplane drink cart or resort minibar — and on this marketing campaign, we’re letting them free. That aligns properly to the little deal with tradition proper now, the place you see lots of people in search of the little joys in life. The minis might be one other manner of expressing that little pleasure.
“Free the Nip” reimagines the traditional “nip” or shooter as not solely a minibar merchandise, however essential style accent. Why was it vital to combine style with performance?
We’ve all the time been a model that has actually cared about our model id visually, and our aesthetic, and that’s one thing that Kendall, our founder, has had as a North Star for us from the very starting. After we’re saying style, we’re really simply saying aesthetic and life-style and branding, we’re not a clothes merchandise, however lip gloss isn’t a clothes merchandise both, however these magnificence manufacturers are curating an aesthetic that appeals to their shopper and builds model fairness round their model, that their model lives on this aesthetic house.
It’s the events that [our product] can be utilized in, and the events via which we will specific our aesthetic are form of round cocktails and at-home ingesting, issues like that. However the minis have opened us as much as one other avenue, there’s a Get Prepared With Me second, there’s bringing it with you to the celebration, however it’s clipped to your bag.
818 Tequila additionally lately introduced its first nationwide sports activities partnership with NASCAR driver Toni Breidinger. What are your prime concerns when deciding whether or not or to not market round numerous cultural touchpoints?
We’re all the time wanting first at what our shopper is occupied with, and what the perception is that ties the second collectively. I feel the minis are attention-grabbing as a result of we had been already planning on launching these — if you recognize something concerning the provide chain and product innovation life cycles and alcohol, they’re very lengthy. It’s not like we had been in a position to say, “Labubu is trending, we’re gonna launch these minis” and do it in three months.
The perception was already there [that] folks need a extra handy and accessible type of their favourite spirit, particularly within the shopper group that we’re working with, which is loads of Gen Z and millennial shoppers who want to do issues like have a good time a bachelorette celebration, have a ladies evening in the place they do an aesthetic cheese plate. The mini already had an area in that, after which it simply so occurred that we’re seeing this cultural pattern of little deal with tradition, bag charms, and we had been like, this makes complete sense, there’s a solution to plus this up much more with this limited-edition bag appeal.
We have seen main entrepreneurs like Unilever adopting social-first, influencer-heavy methods this yr. Does that change the equation for 818 in any respect?
We’ve all the time been a social-first model, so it actually hasn’t shifted something for us. I feel it’s the larger ships within the advertising and marketing house, the larger shopper manufacturers, that this can be a shift for them. Toni, our NASCAR driver, is without doubt one of the very first sponsorships we’ve ever achieved — we actually don’t do sponsorships. Our advertising and marketing could be very pushed by social, digital, influencer, content material creator and our founder. It’s not likely a step change when that’s how we’ve operated from the start. It’s simply gotten extra in style for manufacturers to do it as a result of they see how efficient it’s.
What areas or developments is the model seeking to step into subsequent?
We converse each to a Gen Z shopper and a millennial shopper, [the latter] who’s actually occupied with issues like mixology and at-home internet hosting and entertaining, so loads of our new stuff developing will both be centered extra on that Gen Z going out event, after which additionally that millennial shopper, who can be a core shopper of 818, who’s seeking to host at house and make enjoyable cocktails.
