Since 2005, we’ve helped SVEDKA achieve an average 41% sales increase (80P, 1L), launch more than 100 national retail campaigns, and manage an ever-growing roster of 107 SKUs—all to become the #1 imported vodka brand in the USA. Though we’ve supported the brand at nearly every touchpoint over the years, we’ve mastered the retail channel through shopper savvy, ever-evolving consumer insights, and breakthrough creative.

Most recently, we looked to break through the aisles during the crowded Halloween season—a season in which SVEDKA historically outperforms the competition. Leveraging insights around consumers turning to mysticism for major life decisions, we turned SVEDKA into a cocktail fortune-teller: a holistic and disruptive Halloween experience that combined the best of in-person retail displays, cocktail discovery, gamification, and digital video.

In 2019, we worked to amplify SVEDKA’s new ad campaign, Bring Your Own Spirit. The brand’s high-energy visuals continued to evolve through neons, helping to electrify the robust line of programs. These rollouts were all accompanied by comprehensive toolkits, supplying visual guidance with point-of-sale items.

The Bring Your Own Spirit “2.0” campaign led to a more finely-tuned visual ID, including greater diversity in the campaign’s neon headlines, lifestyle background shots, garnished cocktails with charged splashes, and new QR activation prompts. All these elements helped propel SVEDKA’s new floor-stopping bottle displays. SVEDKA also added Cherry Limeade to its shelf of products.

SVEDKA Rosé, Pure Infusions, and another Vodka Soda line were added to the roster. We helped launch these new products, in addition to 25 other consumer packaged goods for the brand—supporting the launches over a wide range of touchpoints including packaging, key visuals, retail displays, shopper strategy, and messaging.

The Tiki program marked the first use of neons by the SVEDKA brand. The program introduced high-energy assets and dynamic cocktail details to drive appetite appeal and literally make a splash.

This was the time period that we created an original high-success Halloween retail campaign that helped SVEDKA tower above its competition, and it was also when SVEDKA debuted its seltzer line.

To get SVEDKA involved with the annual big game and achieve on-prem goals, we launched the “Hail Mary” program. Leaning in on the data point that the bloody mary was the second-most ordered brunch cocktail at bars and restaurants, the program led with SVEDKA’s signature spin on it. From messaging and key visuals, to giveaway items to table tent signage, barware and garnishes, the program was a major touchdown—even pulled through to off-prem accounts, to ensure a cohesive consumer experience.

In 2016, SVEDKA hit their largest milestone yet, reaching #1 imported vodka in the U.S. During this era, our work focused more on building customized, seasonal programs. In the process, we became retail experts, working more with trade and promotions agencies, and supporting sales windows.

Following SVEDKA’s new #1 achievement, we helped the brand blow out the release of their famous Blue Raspberry flavor—from packaging, key visuals, and displays to sales tools, cocktails, and on-premise event materials.

We’ve helped SVEDKA release an average of 6 national retail sales programs per year, including shopper strategy and point of purchase support.

In 2012, we helped SVEDKA launch a completely overhauled bottle design for its lineup of flavors. With its change of packaging, the brand retired the Fembot and went deep on flavored vodkas. We helped the brand gracefully manage the shift from the Fembot and maintain their iconic status even as the bottle and spokesperson were completely changed out—a challenge for any brand, especially one that had only recently begun to have widespread name recognition.

We maintained a focus on brand consistency as SVEDKA launched 2+ new SKUs per year, in addition to seasonal and core programming.

During SVEDKA’s start-up years, BRIGADE got scrappy and learned to work smarter in order to keep up with the brand’s rapid growth and fast-paced workflow. We took risks and embraced the fire-drill mentality. During this era, our work spanned a variety of channels and took many forms—we created an annual advertising campaign, upgraded sales materials, helped with a published book, and designed a float for a Pride parade. We also supported the launch of the infamous SVEDKA Fembot. Then (and now), we helped the brand with anything and everything they needed.