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Make It With Martell bar props

Martell
Global Drinks Activation

How can we make it easier for drinkers to order cognac?

Many cognac brands just focus on luxury lifestyle. As a result, many drinkers don’t even know what cognac is, or how to drink it.

Martell wanted to enlighten them with easily-memorable ways to order cognac. We were tasked with creating a new global BTL campaign to change drinker behaviour – a cognac revolution in line with Martell’s latest ad campaign.

We took inspiration from Martell’s Master Mixologist, Remy Savage. His delicious “trick” is to enrich any Classic cocktail by swapping the usual spirit for Martell. It really works, thanks to the rich essence of French grapes at the heart of their liquid. Try it when you next order a Negroni!

So we created a flexible, revolution-inspired campaign to showcase all the Classic recipes that Martell can set free from rigid, dated approaches.

Make It With Martell Key Visuals

We created a full toolkit to bring our cognac revolution into bars worldwide

Menus were hacked to offer Martell-switched Classics, via graffiti stickers, manifesto pamphlets and card inserts. We also muddled fresh grapes to order for the brand’s delicious new signature Martell Smash serve (which was also created by our team).

In total, markets were able to choose from a catalogue of over 50 activation items, alongside inspiration visuals and step-by-step guides.

These options included theatrical Gold level room dressing and theatre, like roulette wheel games and tableside cocktail service. We also covered cost-effective Bronze & Silver roll-out, with card assets and basic props.

 

Make It With Martell menu takeover
Make It With Martell bar theatre props
Make It With Martell staff uniform and bar comms
Make It With Martell activation comms
Make It With Martell bar scene

The toolkit included step-by-step guides for Festivals and Day-time Brunches

Both are highly popular in Martell’s key US Market, so we adapted the activation concept for both high-volume festival service, and ticketed table-service dining events.

Make It With Martell festival visual
Make It With Martell brunch visual

We also created iconic gift boxes for global Press Events

These featured everything needed to make a Martell Negroni, including a recipe card, ingredients, glassware, plus a spinner & graffiti stickers to spread the word.

Make It With Martell negroni press pack

The new campaign was successfully piloted in New York, before a wider roll-out across the USA, Nigeria and other key markets

Make It With Martell activation images with cocktails, serving stand and crushed grapes in gold pan

“I loved working with Ark Drinks. The team are super collaborative, creative and responsive. Within a surprisingly short timeframe, we crafted so much high quality content. Visually, this campaign was quite a step-change for our brand, yet the work flew seamlessly through sign-off, and has achieved great pick-up among field teams globally.”

Tessa Reynolds, Martell Marketing Manager

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