Q1: Can you share the vision and inspiration behind your event?
Jägermeister is the flagship product of the Germany-based Mast-Jägermeister SE. First crafted in 1878, Jägermeister is a digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. Over the years, Jägermeister, or simply Jager for many consumers, has created an exceptionally strong brand among young adults due to successful campaigns and managing to deliver the right and inspiring stories to consumers while focusing on reframing the brand’s identity, attracting a broader range of demographics and driving revenue growth.
One of the most successful Jagermeister advertising platforms is the platform ‘Be The Meister’, which celebrates authenticity and the best nights where Jagermeister is the best companion, either at home or when going out. The campaign was designed to appeal to youth audiences (adults aged 21 to 34) and drive reach and positive disruption in the marketplace for this unique spirit.
To meet communication and business objectives in the Croatian market and due to specific market advertising constraints and the position of the brand, Jägermeister decided to boost sales between peak periods during summer and winter by creating a brand campaign within the “Be The Meister” platform, which consisted of a B2B event supported by a smart social, influencer marketing and PR activities.
Celebrating outspoken taste through street style, music and art, by inspiring and activating the primary young and urban target audience of the brand was the main focus. For this purpose, a fashion piece, a unique jacket, in cooperation with the fashion brand LOKOMOTIVA, was created. It was the 3rd and most successful local cooperation of the Jägermeister brand and Lana Puljić, owner and designer behind the LOKOMOTIVA brand.
The jacket was inspired by the Jägermeister perfect serve at -18°C, so it changes colour when the temperature reaches ice cold. All parts of the jacket are detachable, including the hood. It features black mat snap buttons with the urban stag logo (the symbol of Jager and the upper jacket are water repellent and change colour in ICE COLD temperatures from bright green to dark green).
For this purpose, the webshop was launched as an upgrade to Jägermeisterbestnights.hr where the jacket was available exclusively 1 day after the event. Twenty limited edition jackets were offered to end users, and they were sold within a few hours.
The event was attended by around 350 people in total, which included business partners, key media representatives, 30 top-tier influencers and Jägermeister brand ambassadors. The event was held in a hot urban spot, lending us the opportunity to transfer the “BERLIN IN THE BOTTLE” vibe of the brand and create the atmosphere of the best clubs in Berlin.
The event was the main topic OF CONVERSATION In Zagreb for days after.
The central concept of the event in terms of scenography design was to incorporate elements of ice and cold in order to reinforce the message of perfect service at -18°C but also to connect with the campaign on social media, where shooting was held on Glacier Hintertux in Austria. At the entrance, we built a dark tunnel so guests could experience the moment of surprise when they entered the room-cum-ice-cube-showroom (frozen) where jackets were exhibited. After that, the visitors could see and try the one-off jackets, and enter the main floor, called the “High energy zone”, where the regionally important DJ performance with DJ duo Vanillaz and DJ Mike Vale was held. Filled with special effects, such as smoke (presenting the ice cold) and lasers, they could enjoy specially prepared cocktails made with Jägermeister and shots.
Q2: How does it feel to win the Conventa Best Event title?
The whole team was incredibly excited – especially since we won 2 awards for this project. The audience award was something we truly did not expect.
Q3: What were the features that made your event stand out?
We think the idea of celebrating outspoken taste through street style, music and art resonated with young and urban target audiences. All artists we worked with are among the best in their fields, and it showed in the execution of all elements of the project. Regarding the event, we paid attention to every detail in order to bring the overall idea to life and achieve the vibe we wanted – from the selection of the location and scenography elements to attendees.
Q4: Did you incorporate any new technologies or innovative ideas that contributed to the event’s success?
This project mainly presents innovation in fashion design – it took a lot of research and testing in order to make the jacket change the colour at exactly the same temperature as Jägermeister perfect serve at the same time that would reflect both LOKOMOTIVA and Jägermeister brands and, of course, be the fashion statement piece for upcoming AW season.
Q5: Who was involved in making the event a reality, and how did you foster collaboration within your team?
Without our client, who had a strong vision and will to push the project through, this project would not be so successful. She gathered a fantastic team of artists who collaborated with us – creative energy was one of a kind.
Q6: What kind of feedback did you receive from attendees? How did you incorporate that feedback before or during the event?
The feedback from attendees during the event and days after was that they felt like they were teleported to the best club in Berlin or New York; they could not believe they were in Zagreb. The feedback from the management of Zonar Hotel, where the event was held, was also fantastic – they wanted to permanently keep some elements of the scenography.
The positive feedback from influencers and media who were present at the event resulted in a vast number of free media and social media coverage.
Q7: How did you measure the success of your event, and did it meet or exceed your expectations?
Great coverage in media was obtained with free PR coverage in top news and lifestyle portals. Social media impressions went up by 286% in this period, compared to the previous one.
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF IMPRESSIONS:
1. JM FACEBOOK + INSTAGRAM: 5,807,281
2. MEISTER INSTAGRAM PROFILES: 301,788
3. INFLUENCER INSTAGRAM PROFILES: 75,833
4. INFLUENCER + MEISTER IG PROFILES: 377,621
Jägermeister Instagram Reels
We published 6 Instagram Reel videos and 5 collab posts. In 2 Reels, we focused on showcasing the jacket. The second 2 were collaboration Reels with @meixnerstyle and @thatgirlriva that showcased the PR event. The last ones were the official after-movie and behind-the-scenes Reel. Meister the Lök Aftermovie of the PR event and the launch Reels received the most impressions.
Video views: 46,950 (organic)
The total number of interactions: 1839 (organic)
Q8: What events do you consider the benchmark in the meetings industry?
We tend to follow different industry events and combine different elements of lifestyle events with B2B events – from Cannes advertising events to fashion weeks. We think it is important to follow the trends in technology and business, but also lifestyle and mix them in order to create fantastic experiences at events and raise the bar with each event we make.
Q9: Do you have any plans for future events, or are there any new ideas you’re excited to explore after this win?
We have many ideas that we still have not taken a chance to bring to life – in the end, we work for clients who are often constrained by budget and other corporate rules. Hopefully, the industry awards will make them more creative, and brave and convince them to invest more in some ideas that would make events more successful.
Q10: Is Europe still the leading events destination in the world?
I am not sure – a lot of fantastic events are being organised all over the world. It is announced that after Las Vegas, a new sphere will be built in Abu Dhabi, for example. This is something!
Personal questions for Lana
Q11: Do you enjoy podcasts? Which is your favourite?
I must admit that I do not have much time for podcasts, but if I come across something interesting, I would listen to it – either about advertising, digital marketing, management and business or personal growth.
Q12: If you had an unlimited budget, what kind of event would you organise?
I post-graduated in Non-profit marketing – I wish we could organize events that would really make a change in areas where change is needed, especially events that would improve the lives of children who are ill, were abandoned or need some other help. Also, I hope that in the future, there will be a possibility that we bring some of the biggest global events to Croatia.
Learn more about Alert event agency here.