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It\u2019s not every day that Kendall Jenner shows up on your doorstep. But for one group of housemates in Arizona, that day came in September.<\/p>\n
Last month, a video of Jenner appearing on a Ring camera at the residence of a group of students and alumni at Arizona State University,<\/em> and posing in their bedrooms once let in, went viral on TikTok. It was part of Jenner\u2019s tequila brand 818\u2019s College Bar Tour, where she and the brand travel to campuses across the country to reach 21+ Gen Z drinkers.<\/p>\n While the surprise visit from Jenner was planned, 818 CMO Kathleen Braine told us the video itself was not.<\/p>\n \u201cThey genuinely had no idea that Kendall was coming, because when we got to that woman\u2019s house, she was the only person there of her four roommates,\u201d Braine said. \u201cWe literally woke her up from sleeping, and everyone\u2019s calling her because I guess everyone has the [Ring] app on their phone\u2026They were like, \u2018Answer the door! Answer the door!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In the last year, 818 has shown up at colleges in the Midwest, the South, and the Southeast as part of the College Bar Tour, and Braine said each time it generates \u201cmore virality\u201d\u2014and more calls, via DMs and comments, to come to additional campuses.<\/p>\n She said the tour is \u201ca continuation of [the brand\u2019s] broader strategy of giving everyday consumers the influencer experience,\u201d creating post-worthy events for 21+ Gen Zs and millennials and helping 818 compete with larger alcohol brands through social media.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of brands are looking at experiential marketing through the lens of only inviting influencers and how they can sort of amplify their brand that way,\u201d she said. \u201cWe also want to make sure that we\u2019re driving liquid to lips and sampling and awareness with our consumers, who may not be influencers, but who may be just normal seniors in college or postgrad students.\u201d<\/p>\n How does 818 aim to give normal people the influencer experience? For one, Braine said, the brand keeps its activations \u201cessentially open to the public.\u201d At its 818 Outpost activation at Coachella, where the brand has been for the last three years since going live, it hosted influencers and VIPs but also opened up this year\u2019s activation to people on social media to be able to register and attend.<\/p>\n Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And show up they did. According to 818, more than 1,000 tickets were reserved in the first 15 minutes of the event being live, and the event generated more than 1.3 billion social impressions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a democratization and a way to make customers feel special,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For the College Bar Tour, 818 has hosted 21+ events in college bars and at pregames with brand ambassadors, and has sent Jenner door-to-door to thank fans in person with gifts of tequila and merch from its Alumni Collection. According to Braine, the merch was designed to appeal to elder Gen Zs and millennials by showing that \u201cthe magic moments in college don\u2019t have to just be in college.\u201d<\/p>\n Braine said her team has \u201cworked to create a brand that stands alone\u201d outside of Jenner\u2019s celebrity status and has thought strategically about when to engage her publicly. While she was not present at the brand\u2019s Coachella outpost, she\u2019s been on the ground during the College Bar Tour serving up drinks at bars and surprising customers, which has proven to be a success\u2014at least given the results it\u2019s seen online: Across platforms, the latest College Bar Tour has racked up more than 45,000 social mentions, 80 million social interactions, 1.5 billion social impressions, and 1,500 DMs \u201cabout where to go next,\u201d according to 818.<\/p>\n TikTok now allows alcohol brands and advertisers to show up officially on the platform, but 818 does not have an active account. Still, Braine said, it\u2019s reaping the benefits of the platform even beyond last month\u2019s viral video.<\/p>\n \u201cEven without our own owned TikTok platform handle, we are the most talked-about tequila on TikTok,\u201d she said. \u201cAt the moment, as it\u2019s very, very new, the opening up of alcohol [brands] being permitted to use TikTok, we are taking a wait-and-see approach.\u201d<\/p>\n Braine said future events from the brand will continue to center on meeting and interacting with its Gen Z and millennial audience, whether that\u2019s another tour or offering drink specials at a local bar.<\/p>\n \u201cThat highly local touch and making sure that we are where our consumers are and where our fans and consumers are enjoying themselves is really important,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBack to school<\/h2>\n
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