Reimagining Traditional Advertising

Reimagining traditional advertising through creative conversations and content

Challenge

If you've ever spent any time behind a bar, you probably know and love Fernet-Branca and maybe even call it by its other name, "the Bartender's Handshake." However, outside of Bartenders, awareness is low – and has a rather aggressive taste profile that gets a polarising reaction from first-time drinkers.

Approach

Instead of a mass advertising campaign designed to drive awareness, we recommended the brand create meaningful conversations with a broad group of potential adult drinkers who share the brand's adventurous spirit.

We started by defining the potential audience and found several common lifestyle interests and passion points through hidden needs research with cocktail enthusiasts. We learned that the people most likely to enjoy Fernet-Branca are self-proclaimed foodies seeking interesting experiences.

So, to get the brand into conversations with them, we created Per La Mente – Fernet-Branca's online magazine for the mind – and published stories about creative happenings in the world of dining & libations.

The highly original content generated massive interest from local cultural influencers generating earned media in just the right places. For example, Do the Bay in San Francisco introduced it to their readers "Per La Mente is endlessly curious about exploring underground, experiential, and elusive culture, as well as shining a spotlight on the artists and creators who make and love it. With every story, Per La Mente shares a spark of mystery, a hint of eccentricity, a dash of staggering originality, and a tinge of passionate genius."

We further amplified the publishing platform through paid media, publishing partnerships, and experiential targeting within strategic must-win cities.

The combined efforts of our platform innovation resulted in a scalable, high-impact experiential and digital platform, matching the brands' 5-year growth trajectory for the first time in company history.

Output

• Brand Innovation Platform
• Brand Creation & Design
• Content Platform, Content & Partnerships
• Network of >200 Creative Collaborators
• Media Plan