InstantDJ
Bacardi
Issue 43 | June 2017
Agency
BBDO New York
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officers David Lubars (BBDO Worldwide), Greg Hahn (BBDO New York) Executive Creative Directors Danilo Boer, Marcos Kotlhar Associate Creative Directors Marcus Johnston, Jim Connolly Senior Designer Bhanu Arbuaratna Creative Technologist Filip Williander
Production Team
Director of Integrated Production David Rolfe Executive Producer Kristin Tomborello Producer Ali Gladstone Music Producer Julia Millison Production Company BBDO Studios
Other Credits
Agency Planning Team Julian Cole, Patrick Tomasiewicz, Heather Lefevre Agency Account Team Steven Panariello Joshua Goodman, Meghan Wood
Date
December 2016
Background
Bacardi had long been associated with music and nightlife. But reaching the brand's millennial audience in social media was difficult because they tended to skip past branded social content.
To engage the audience and stand out against posts from their friends, influencers and other brands, the challenge was to be innovative in the social space.
Idea
Skipping through content is native behavior on Instagram Stories. So instead of fighting it, Bacardi embraced it. The skip function on Instagram Stories was used to create an interactive DJ experience. In the first ever hack of the platform, eight video clips of specially composed beats, samples and scratches were posted to Instagram Stories. Just by skipping back and forth between clips, the viewer could feel like they were mixing turntables with their thumbs.
It was an innovative use of Instagram Stories that turned a simple social post into an interactive DJ experience.
Results
InstantDJ was posted as an organic (unpaid) Instagram Story on the @BacardiUSA Instagram account. It had over 200,000 interactions and led to a 383% increase in Bacardi's Instagram followers. InstantDJ was also talked about beyond the platform of Instagram Stories, with over 11 million media impressions. And it had cost nothing to post.
Our Thoughts
I love the fact that the skip function was actually used to increase brand engagement.
That's what's so clever about everything Bacardi and BBDO New York have been doing lately (see Directory 42 and their 'Artifier' campaign.)
They have taken the very means by which their audience can block, skip and zap advertising and used the mechanics of blocking, skipping and zapping to create ads they actually enjoy.
I'm sure the target audience will not only applaud the innovation here, the ingenious use of the skip buttons to scratch music, but they'll appreciate the irony of the concept.
Further evidence that people don't hate advertising, they just hate bad advertising.