Diageo is giving its co-owned Cîroc vodka brand a US push next month with a campaign centred around a new ‘signature serve’, the messy martini.
Kicking off in New York, the company’s North America business unit is debuting a martini-mixing machine (below) at a branch of Dave’s Hot Chicken, the casual-dining chain part-owned by rapper Drake. The ‘Martini Machini’ allows consumers to create their own serve, choosing elements such as the level of brine and type of garnish.
Diageo is hosting a free pop-up event at the venue on 6 November, called ‘Tender’s & ‘Tinis’, where consumers will be able to test the machine and buy co-branded merchandise. There are currently no further rollout plans for the device.
The group, which in April last year agreed a JV – called First Round Collective – with investment group Main Street Advisors to handle Cîroc in North America, is also adding an at-home element to the campaign, through a partnership with cocktail garnish brand Filthy Foods. From 1 November, consumers in “select” US cities who order a 75cl bottle of Cîroc through Uber Eats could win a portion of Filthy cocktail mix.
Retail activity includes the addition of Filthy-branded ‘neckers’ to bottles of the grape-based vodka. The number of states or retailers involved was not specified.
“The Martini Machini is about giving people permission to play with the martini and make it their own,” said the president & CMO of First Round Collective, Nick Tran. “The messy martini takes the familiar dirty martini and loosens it up … .
“With the Martini Machini and Filthy, we’re bringing that experience to drinkers wherever they are.”
Last week, Diageo kicked off a global push for its Baileys Irish cream liqueur.
