If you asked everyone you know which form of media they spend the most time on, the answer would overwhelmingly be social media.

So, it is common sense that we make work with social media at the heart of it.

But what does that mean? That we chase likes? Or followers? That our advice to clients is just to copy whatever is trending?

Of course not. If we did, we’d all be out of a job pretty soon.

Instead, in order to be relevant at scale, we work with brands to identify their key audiences, listen to conversations happening on social media and then deploy strategists, media experts and creatives to design content people will actually choose to watch, rather than passively consume - or worst of all - skip!

Entertain first, educate second

Liquid I.V. wanted to educate the UK audience on enhanced hydration, but they were fully aware that bombarding viewers with a ton of science wasn’t going to land.

So, we worked with them to develop a social-first content series that was entertainment first, education second.

This approach is crucial to creating relevant content, no matter which market you are in around the world. Leaning into culture, audiences, and essentially - entertaining content - is how to connect and build a brand in the modern era.

It’s what we call our "find right" philosophy, which prioritises listening to what audiences want, rather than spending hours of time (and budget) on what a boardroom thinks they want.

It requires continuous, detailed analysis of organic social data to identify patterns that already resonate with the target demographic (typically Gen Z to Millennial audiences for Liquid I.V.).

It’s a direct response to observed consumer behaviour.

Custom building a sauna for social media

It led us to something brand new.

Liquid I.V. custom built a two person sauna, with dimensions that were tailored to filming 9:16 content - totally optimised for platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels.

The format itself is a great mix of creative constraint and its main selling point. The inherent visual tension (from the candid celebrity interviews combined with the physical humor of guests genuinely sweating) is designed to interrupt the consumer's "doom-scrolling" and drive view-through as well as engagement; both key metrics for modern social algorithms.

The content is an original entertainment property built around the brand's core benefit: hydration. The sauna setting is an astute, visually compelling setting for the product’s key benefit, making it showable rather than just tellable.

Tapping creators and culture

Liquid I.V.'s organic content had indicated better performance from assets centered on healthy habits, wellness trends, spontaneous interviews, and content featuring popular creators. These content pillars served as the blueprint. Consumers weren't just engaging with product facts; they were engaging with lifestyle and culture.

The campaign took these disparate, successful themes (wellness, candid celebrity chat, platform-specific humour, and of cours,e the brand objective of better hydration for all), and merged them into one cohesive concept: a sweaty, candid celebrity interview held inside the hottest wellness habit of 2025: an infrared sauna.

From there, the brand was able to get Em Wallbank, the host of all 3 episodes of season 1, to take the conversation into the broader cultural topics of wellness, lifestyle, and entertainment - not just electrolytes. Although, there is plenty of electrolyte chat too!

Casting was crucial as ever. Aside from carefully selecting an energetic and widely-loved host, we managed to book ex-England Lionesses captain Jill Scott to tap into sports and hydration in an athletic context, rapper and TV chef Big Zuu to tap into the world of music and food, and former Love Island star Chloe Burrows whose large social audience aligns with one of Liquid I.V.’s largest target demographics.

Achieving global relevance

The campaign’s relevance is not rooted in a specific product feature, but in a universal, shared human truth: we could probably all know a little bit more about hydration.

While these 3 episodes featured UK-specific celebrities, the relatable physical experience and globally applicable insights make for content that can easily travel and be adapted.

Put differently, the model we use is applicable all over the world.

Listening to what audiences want, leaning on your creative talent to develop an exciting concept, and finding the right on screen stars that people want to watch is always going to be a recipe for success.

It’s not reinventing the wheel. So many of the decades-old tropes of advertising and marketing still apply. But it is rethinking them through the lens of social media and entertainment. 

'The Hot Seat' works because instead of making ads, VaynerMedia and Liquid I.V gave the product a natural role in the midst of funny, engaging and at times ‘heated’ conversations (pun intended).

It elevates electrolyte-focused content from being a barrage of stats to something simultaneously entertaining and educational, making the science of hydration approachable, culturally integrated, and infinitely more shareable.

The brand now aims to continuously listen carefully to what consumers like and want more of, ensuring the campaign remains fresh, relevant, and effective at driving both awareness and engagement.