Refreshing a Leading Drinks Brand

The Challenge

Helping a leading drinks brand craft a new challenger positioning for the future.

Once upon a time, a leading Mexican drink brand was the ‘main character’ on the shelves of Mexican homes and bars, but lately, it had lost its way and become a ‘side show’ to Tequila and Mezcal. Where it used to be an exciting, rule-breaking category challenger full of richness and attitude, it had become an ingredient, diluted (literally and metaphorically) by years of one-dimensional storytelling and simplistic claims. The brand needed to reacquaint itself with Mexican and Aperitivo culture to harness its challenger mindset and get that main-character energy back.

 

The Approach

Enter stage left, The Sound. We started by talking to super consumers across the US and Mexico in a multimedia digital diary study. With experience-driven, cultured & creative mindsets, these people allowed us to dig deep into the meaning of Modern Mexico and ‘Mexican Cool’, and where the brand could legitimately play. We then tested three distinct brand territories to reveal the recipe for authenticity and what the brand needed to do to get center stage again. But because we’re nosy, we wanted more behind-the-scenes knowledge. So we interviewed experts in Mixology, Mexican History, and Mexican Elites who gave us all the dirty details we needed to weave a unique and compelling brand story for the future.

 

The Impact

We found that there’s no singular definition of ‘cool’ in Mexico… in fact ‘Mexican Cool’ is highly diverse to the point of being alienating, and it revolves around local interests and identities. So we helped the brand craft its new challenger positioning around regionally-distinct ingredients and traditions, remixing the past and the present into a powerful cocktail of personality. Our work was used from the outset to inform and guide the creative strategy and all associated brand and product marketing campaigns, with the Global Senior Brand Manager describing our work as a “phenomenal piece of research with crystal clear insights”.