My Role
Project Management, Team Coordination, Client Communications, Feedback Translation, Research, Creative and Strategy Ideation, Deck Narrative, and Pitch.
Deliverables
Hyper-targeted social media campaign (geo-targeting, cross-device retargeting), integrated card game, and in-store activations.
Ask
With an over-saturation of new entries into the RTD alcohol market, how can Smirnoff ICE gain an outsized share of love and attention among legal drinking age Gen Z?
Challenge
Gen Z drinks the least of any generation that precedes it. They drink 20% less than Millennials did at their age and 2024 saw a 14% increase in Dry January participation among Gen Z (Forbes, 2024).
This means that there are fewer opportunities than ever to be selected by the youngest legal drinking age generation and there have never been more RTD options.
Insight
Gen Z can be a professional, gamer, athlete, and partier all within the same day. They don’t allow themselves to be boxed into one personality.
Reasons to Believe
Low alcohol content for controlled enjoyment.
Wide range of package options.
Competitively priced.
Most uniquely, 17 different flavors.
Strategy
However you show up, Smirnoff ICE is ready to go with the flow.
Channels
Through research I conducted on MRI Simmons, we found that 66% of our target are “Social Media Superstars” which encouraged a social media campaign that was based on platforms that allow for age targeting due to legal issues advertising alcohol to minors. Ultimately, we decided to utilize YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and Snapchat.
70%
Use YouTube Daily
65%
Use Instagram Daily
52%
Use Snapchat Daily
Creative Idea
Because there are so many Smirnoff ICE flavors, there’s one for every vibe.
Let’s show how with Smirnoff ICE’s wide variety of flavors, every situation has its own drink.
To kickoff our campaign, we want to start by teasing some of our flavor personas with a mixture of music from the recently viral GNX album by Kendrick Lamar and Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice.
Social posts are designed for share-ability and to capitalize on Gen Z absurdist humor in meme-style videos.
Persona Examples
When the vibe is to go with the flow and see where the night takes you…
You are Skateboard Dog!
Your ICE flavor is Original!
When the vibe is to sit back and people watch…
You are Houseplant!
Your ICE flavor is Green Apple!
When the vibe is to bring energy to the party…
You are Mitochondria!
Your ICE flavor is Screwdriver!
To further increase engagement with the brand and to encourage repeat interactions, we’ve also created a microsite that allows users to take a test that guides them to their perfect flavor based on their vibe.
Along with learning what their flavor is, they also have the ability to order the product from Instacart and can listen to a personalized playlist based on their vibe.
As a result, our team won the pitch presentation to Smirnoff and their partners at McCann!
Credits
Graham Bartal (AD)
Brittni Evans (ST)
Ken Hargrove (XD)
Harper Lock (CBM)
Nathan Sisack (CW)
