BRIGADE Helps SVEDKA Launch ‘Bring Your Own Spirit’ Campaign
BRIGADE is at the retail nexus of a multi-agency push to supercharge SVEDKA Vodka for a new generation of consumers.
We have worked over the last year as part of a multi-agency initiative to relaunch SVEDKA with Bring Your Own Spirit, a vibrant new advertising campaign. Created by ad agency R/GA, the campaign unfolds on television, digital, and social media this fall. We are working with R/GA to bring the campaign to life at retail and other channels, with more exciting announcements to come throughout 2019.
(Bring Your Own Spirit 30-second spot, created by R/GA)
The ad campaign is built around a new headline and rallying cry: Bring Your Own Spirit. At its core, this campaign motivates SVEDKA consumers to live boldly, fearlessly, and as originals — to be “a heavy pour in a watered-down world.” Aesthetically, the campaign hums with bright neons and compelling lifestyle photography that feeds a fiercely independent attitude resonant with brand loyalists.
With the guidance of several key leaders — Chief Marketing Officer Jim Sabia, VP of Marketing Carl Evans, Spirits Brand Director Vicky Arcos, and Spirits Brand Manager Jerime Black — Constellation Brands and SVEDKA leveraged key insights and brand sales momentum for this substantial repositioning. The brand team spent months interviewing loyalists, researching the marketplace, and diving into the core of what it means to be a SVEDKA consumer today.
A Robust Retail Strategy
Drawing on more than a decade of experience, consumer insight, and marketing expertise, we created point-of-sale materials with energy, clear communication, and a strategic rollout to optimize Bring Your Own Spirit for retail.
Dimensional case cards, pole-topper displays, and additional components set glowing neons against a dark SVEDKA blue background. The striking color contrast helps the headline and product jump out through the uneven lighting situations on-premise, while hard highlights and reflections make the 80 proof bottle pop. The vivid creative disrupts the retail space, builds excitement, and encourages all consumers to engage with SVEDKA’s new campaign at multiple stages in their retail experience.
“Retail is often treated like the outcast of brand channels because there are so many challenges associated with the physical environment,” said Robert Parker, Director of Creative Strategy at BRIGADE. “But with the right strategy and environmental and production knowledge, retail becomes the secret to getting consumers to engage with your brand.”
We generated more than a year of new quarterly programming. Through product and attitude-focused copy, disruptive visuals, and careful production guidelines, we devised a retail strategy to make the campaign come alive and build on the SVEDKA brand consumers trust.
Returning to SVEDKA’s Roots
For more than 13 years, we’ve maintained a close, strategic retail and packaging-focused partnership with Constellation Brands and have helped take SVEDKA from a rebellious startup to an industry juggernaut. In that time, the brand has grown its product lineup to more than 50 SKUs, doubled down on market innovation and growth, and collaborated with us to increase the impact of their branding across a range of sales channels. In 2016, SVEDKA hit its largest milestone yet: becoming the #1 selling imported vodka in the U.S.
Ultimately, SVEDKA’s move to bigger, more impactful marketing is a return to form for the brand. When Constellation bought the brand in 2007, former CEO Richard Sands remarked, “SVEDKA’s phenomenal success is largely due to eye-catching and effective marketing and advertising campaigns that reach a key segment of the young-adult market.”
We’re glad to have been with SVEDKA since the beginning. Over a decade ago, we worked with the SVEDKA team on the Voted #1 Vodka of 2033 campaign. As Bring Your Own Spirit launches, we’re eager to continue our long-term partnership with such a talented team of brand visionaries and creatives. Look for the new commercials this fall, and the new retail experience next spring. In the meantime, stay tuned for even more big announcements as we move into 2019.
Learn more about our work here.
