Smirnoff marketing project to influence other Diageo brands

Drinks maker Diageo is to take inspiration from its Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange project to produce more co-created marketing campaigns for its other brands.

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Michelle Klein, vice president of content, digital and communications for Smirnoff, said ideas that the vodka brand “pioneered” will be taken up by other Diageo brands, such as Captain Morgan and Johnnie Walker, when she spoke at IAB Engage in London today (3 November).

The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange project launched last year and encouraged consumers across the world to share what makes nightlife in their country great on Facebook and at special events in their towns. The ideas were pooled together to create more than a dozen special events across the world.

This year’s £6m campaign is fronted by Madonna, who will judge a dance competition, with the best dancers getting the opportunity to perform with the pop star on her next tour. The number of cities hosting events has increased from 14 to 50.

The campaign will also introduce RFID (radio-frequency identification), which will allow revellers in some territories to log in to Facebook via wristbands at clubs to share their experiences and vote on promotions.

Klein said Diageo is looking to connect more people to its campaigns through RFID technology in future campaigns.

“The sweet spot is to balance what consumers are doing in the physical world and link it to the digital world…Smirnoff as a brand is social, so we are linking social media and the real world to endorse more engagement,” she added.

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