Back to the Real World
What do you do after a Web 2.0 promotion turns sour? If you’re Pernod Ricard and want to stress the sophistication of Malibu Rum to a twenty-something audience, you shake it off and get your party on.
The beverage company is currently bringing its Winter Beach Bash to 16 American cities, mostly in the sun-starved Northeast and Midwest, reaching out to the 21-to-28 crowd with a series of events that combine music, mojitos and Caribbean flavor. The parties began in Milwaukee, WI, and will end March 1 in Tahoe, NV.
It’s the biggest promotion Malibu has run since the company launched a user-generated ad contest for its new Tropical Banana coconut rum product last May. And it’s guaranteed to be less controversial.
That Tropical Banana Rum contest now stands as a cautionary tale for brands looking to run user video contests — much like the Chevy Tahoe contest that generated publicity for the number of anti-SUV ads it spawned.
Potential entrants were asked to make a video of themselves singing the “Banana Boat Song.” A selection of the videos appeared on the Malibu Rum channel of YouTube, where visitors could vote for their favorite. The trouble began when the winner, supposed to be named on June 30, 2007, was announced June 25 without any posting of finalists, surprising entrants. The mix-up was caused by two conflicting versions of the rules.
The result was a lot of flaming posts to the message board Malibu had set up for the contest and a six-minute YouTube video from at least one disappointed entrant alleging a rigged contest.
Not the kind of publicity you want to garner among a young, Web-savvy audience with access to blogs and social networks.
So in a sense, the Winter Beach Bash tour is a return to real-world marketing for Malibu Run following its online detour. Gather a young target audience in an urban space, offer them games, high-profile performers or DJs, and a chance to sample the Malibu product line. It’s a way to build brand associations among that audience, most of whom consume more spirits than the average imbiber.
The invite-only parties are taking place in a series of urban settings where possible, to emphasize that Malibu Rum can fit into a very non-beach-oriented lifestyle. Guest lists are drawn up from Malibu’s own house list of e-mail addresses acquired through in-bar promotions and from working with selected social and alumni groups in the cities hosting the parties.
The Chicago party, held last month in the Congress Theater just south of the Loop, drew 1,400 attendees. The party was deejayed by Pete Wentz from the group Fall Out Boy.
Guests at the Malibu parties can interact with lifeguards, beachcombers and other typical beach “characters” wandering the floor. They can also play interactive volleyball on a wide-screen display that is able to sense their hand motions. If they like, partygoers can kick off their shoes at the door and walk around in Malibu-branded flip-flops, which they can then take home.
Strategized by Chicago-based Legacy Partners, the sampling parties pick up on the tagline of a pair of new Malibu TV spots, “Get Your Island On.” It’s Malibu’s first new global ad campaign since being acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2005. The ads debuted in December on Comedy Central, Spike TV and other cable channels and feature a man and woman traveling around a cityscape in sandals and a beach buggy.
“We want to let people know you can party like you’re in the Caribbean anytime, anywhere,” says Malibu brand manager Lisa McCann. “Even in Minneapolis in January.”
As for the chances Malibu will run another promotion using user-generated content, McCann rates those odds as good, despite the “Banana Boat” experience.
“We were pleased with the response to that program and thought it went well,” she says. “As with anything you try, there are risks. But we got a positive response from 99.9% of the people taking part, and a lot of brand awareness from the program. I’d definitely be open to doing a similar program again.”
For more articles on event marketing go to www.promomagazine.com/event
