Results and Effectiveness

From the conversations online, in blogs, on Twitter, it became clear that people were surprised and enthused by this brand behaviour. We had 60 111 followers on Twitter. 29 442 fans on Facebook. There were 2,068,594 total unique views for all social media, blogs and forums. 26.3 million Google search listings for “ultimate start up space”. A 40% increase in search traffic for Martell. Over $590 000 in free PR. But most important, by the end of the campaign, Martell VSOP had made an entrepreneur’s dream come true: The winning idea, Chupitos, will open its doors in September 2010.

Creative Execution

We needed to start a conversation about our brand and what it meant to the guy in the street. In essence, the creative idea was to give the ordinary guy a shot at extraordinary success. So we hired a shop space in Clarke Quay for a year, remodelled it, and presented it as The Ultimate Start-Up Space: anyone could win the space (rent free for six months), they just needed a great business idea. The shop space became a living advertisement for the idea - projections of potential business ideas were on a constant loop, beckoning you to enter your idea. To support it, we had a web film, print, press and outdoor advertising that all reiterated the idea: if you have a great idea, we have the location. The online influence was huge: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs were all used to maximise impact and drive people to enter.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Reposition Martell VSOP in order to appeal to a younger, more sophisticated market (25-35 Chinese Singaporeans). The perception amongst this market was that Martell VSOP was for their dads, uncles or ah beng guys in KTV lounges. To change this perception, we needed something surprising, interesting and out of the ordinary. The campaign ran during the worst financial meltdown in history. People were taking pay-cuts, losing jobs, and losing hope. We wanted to use these circumstances to reposition Martell VSOP as a brand relevant to them and their daily lives – owning your own business is a massive aspiration amongst the target market. On the client’s side, the existing brand positioning was RISE ABOVE – we wanted to deliver on that promise with a real-world, tangible action. The Ultimate Start-Up Space was far more than just the promise of success (to rise above), it was a bricks and mortar commitment to success.