The Campaign

Our forerunner, Singapore Cocktail Week, provided a wealth of insight into the marketing needs of the bar industry and the desires of bar patrons. Bar owners wanted to promote their star bartenders and unique cocktail creations while building deeper relationships with their customers. Bar customers wanted to differentiate between the myriad establishments in Singapore and to gain a deeper appreciation for cocktail culture and mixology. We knew what they needed was a full-on festival - one-part excitement, one-part discovery, and a twist of wit - so we rebranded the event as the Singapore Cocktail Festival (SGCF). For a splash of spirit, we re-imagined the format, programme and content, creating on-trend and buzz-worthy cocktail experiences. SGCF would have three key goals: to position Singapore as Asia’s iconic cocktail city, to grow the industry by offering a platform for knowledge and talent exchange, and to elevate the appreciation of cocktails.

Creative Execution

With our plan in place, we gathered 100 brands and bars for an industry insider session to share the new festival format and rally support. We kicked off Phase One in December 2016, collaborating with 45 bars to brainstorm the masterclasses and tours. We also formulated our marketing mix – a blitz of digital, social, radio, outdoor media and public relations. In January 2017, we began Phase Two with the official announcement, activating our marketing strategy to generate publicity. We also clinched participation from nine celebrity mixologists from the United States, United Kingdom and Asia to appear at special bartender shifts and trade workshops. Phase Three, in March 2017, saw us taking over 99 Beach Road, a retro 1930s-era police station - a shell of a building that had tons of atmosphere but zero infrastructure. We built themed cocktail rooms with functional F&B fixtures, including an Artisanal Spirits Tasting Room.

• The SGCF website drew 64,023 page views from 12,839 unique users, while the Facebook Page gained 4,208 new fans for a total of 11.5K. • The Festival Village attracted 14,000 footfall who consumed over 18,500 cocktails. • Our 45 bar partners featured 150 promotional cocktails and produced 16 cocktail masterclasses, 8 bar tours, 65 guest shifts and 10 pop-up parties. • The festival garnered $1.7 mil of PR value, which included 18 print, 125 online and 109 social media articles, plus 8 broadcast interviews and reports. • Singapore’s Next Top Cocktail drew entries from 17 bars while the Asia Bar Battle attracted competing teams from Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines. • Over 200 international bartenders and bar owners attended, reflecting the festival’s profile and reach. • The event was featured in the Singapore Tourism Board’s events calendar, adding colour to Singapore’s tourist offerings.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create something truly fabulous. Singapore’s bar scene was happening but had no meaningful way for alcohol brands to connect with bars or their patrons. We took a chance with Singapore Cocktail Week, transforming it into a festival to rev up the brand. The resulting Singapore Cocktail Festival (SGCF) served up multi-sensory experiences that included cocktail-themed parties, tours, workshops, masterclasses and live competitions. A six-day party in a Festival Village and at bars throughout Singapore, the new festival solidified relationships between cocktail creators, alcohol brands, craft spirit distillers and cocktail lovers from around the region.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

We assembled a hit list to target top Singapore bars that would be eager to connect their brand and bartenders with enthusiastic customers. We conceived six days of enticing, multi-sensory, cocktail-related experiences anchored by a Festival Village, and grouped activities around three pillars: Taste, Learn and Play. The Taste pillar would be devoted to enhanced cocktail experiences, such as craft spirit sampling, restaurant pop-ups at the Festival Village and tasting and pairings at our partner bars. The Learn pillar was for the presentation of trade and consumer workshops programmed to facilitate deeper industry knowledge, understanding and appreciation. The Play pillar would be pure fun, filling the Festival Village with live entertainment and showcasing partner bars via tours and pop-up parties. Two live competitions rounded out our plans: Singapore’s Next Top Cocktail and the Asia Bar Battle.