We provided creative evaluation and strategic project consultancy, then planned, seeded and tracked Bacardi’s first global online viral and buzz marketing campaign

The ‘Planet Party’ campaign launched during late 2004, with planning, creative development and production, seeding and tracking provided by members of the international Viral + Buzz Marketing Association (VBMA) - including ourselves, cdp-travissully and The Viral Factory.

The fun-loving Planet Party theme was a journey from space to Earth, then around the planet to discover why it’s the only place to party. An intergalactic viral film clip, ‘Sucker‘, spread around the web luring partygoers to the Planet Party microsite where they could download another clip called ‘Come’, explore a nightclub, load up Bacardi DJ, find cocktail recipes, learn how to fit in on Earth and more fun activities.

Specialist planning, seeding and tracking for the campaign was our remit, while fellow VBMA member cdp-travissully developed the creative theme and microsite, with a third VBMA member The Viral Factory producing the campaign’s two viral clips. The project was also the first step to integrate viral advertising and buzz marketing with Bacardi’s CRM-oriented influencer marketing activities. Bacardi itself is an Associate Member of the VBMA.

Richie di Franco, Project Manager at Bacardi Global Brands Inc., said:

We used the online viral and buzz marketing expertise of various VBMA members to extend our famous party spirit theme into a fun new campaign for 25- to 30-somethings - kickstarting awareness exclusively among a wide group of entertainment-seeking, highly active online users.

The campaign exposed the brand to over 2 million people within eight weeks, and kickstarted online conversations in the US and around the world, including Germany, Japan, Brazil and Holland. The campaign material was picked up reactively by the likes of Spanish cable TV5, and even featured on ITV’s breakfast show in summer 2006.

Contact us if you’d like to commission a consultancy session to learn more about connected marketing and how it can add value to your brand’s bottom line.