The Challenge

Kahlúa wanted to reinvigorate its identity to become bold and playful, so they need to find a splash-worthy moment to expand its relevance and established a new brand voice in the US.

The Solution

Discovered consumer truths that empowered exploration into new, unexpected moments 

Only 12% of consumers could name coffee liqueur as an espresso martini ingredient. Paired with the fact a pint of Guinness looks awfully similar to an espresso martini, Kahlúa decided to conquest the holiday with influencer ready to celebrate the new king of St. Patrick Day!

Hi-jacked feeds with leading culture drivers reinventing the beloved “Split the G” phenomenon 

Creators partook in a new iteration of the latest bar trend: “splitting the G”, with Kahluagh (Irish spelling) glasses, prompting talent to to post their family & friend or themselves giving their best attempts to win this communal challenge but with espresso martinis.

Owned real-time conversations through widespread community management 

We then shifted the brand from being seen to being discussed through proactive, witty engagement in live conversations, ensuring Kahlúa showed up as an authentic, in-the-moment participant.

Expanded the takeover into OLV & seeding mailers to create a true 360 momentum

The social-first activation gained enough traction to then scale efforts to build a hero OLV asset designed to shift drinking culture to a more alternative, with additional limited-time glasses gifted to a large wave of creators making the brand unmissable with UGC support.