The US water brand Liquid Death is giving away a real jet as part of its current summer campaign. Yes, you heard it right. They’re giving away a legit jet - revisiting an old Pepsi campaign from the 90s, which has just been immortalised on Netflix. This is both bollocks and not bollocks at the same time. Because if you take a closer look at the campaign architecture, there are some remarkable points that are interesting for FMCG brands. But first things first.
Liquid Death position themselves as a heavy metal-inspired alternative to traditional sparkling water, challenging the notion that water has to be boring. Gen Z and millennials are their jam. These are the folks who grew up on energy drinks and air guitar solos. Liquid Death speaks their language, and they honour the brand's alternative communication approaches. With this in mind, it naturally makes sense to give away a jet: It will definitely make you the talk of the town - at least among the target group.
But in addition to the loud appearance with the ‘Liquid Death L-39 Aero Jet’ with 3,2 million views on YouTube in 13 days, one almost overlooks the finely woven campaign mechanics that are taking off at high speed.
Retailers win: everyone who registers plays, but you increase your chances of winning with every single can you buy. Up to 400 cans are each counted as one entry in the raffle. And guess what? Only brick-and-mortar purchases count. Sorry, Amazon buyers – no jets for you! Brick and Mortar goes well with Heavy Metal - and some brick-and-mortar retailers would certainly like more support like this.
The data flows: A lot of 1-party data is generated. Anyone who wants to play along registers on the website and enters their telephone number so that their uploads can be recognised later. Liquid Death also finds out who has bought how much and where. And yet the whole thing makes sense, because each step builds on the previous one and hey, it’s all for a good cause – winning that jet!
The smartphone connects: What I love most is that, staying true to their always-on crowd, the smartphone becomes the center piece of the whole shebang. Instead of wrestling with clunky computer uploads, users just snap a pic of their receipt and shoot it over via text to a special number. Boom, done! Their phone number says, "Hey, it's me!" and their tickets are magically theirs. Super easy, super on point with our mobile-savvy squad.
So, if you're still in the market for a jet: The campaign is running until mid-September. The lucky winner will get the jet and even a hangar for six months. But there's a catch — you'll need to find your own pilot. Or you could just take $250,000 in prize money instead, which might be a greener choice. And oh, the drama about the pilot situation - how much this has already been discussed on social! It’s fantastic when brands manage to stir up their target group's conversations.
What is our takeout?
Loud is good. Loud and smart is better. But if we leave smart alone, it will be overheard.
