According to Elit by Stolichnaya, the term “vodka” is searched more in June than any other month of the year. To tap into that interest, the spirits brand hosted a series of invitation-only events for media and influencers in a penthouse at the Marmara Park Avenue hotel beginning June 1, and culminating on Saturday to tie into World Martini Day, which was Sunday. It’s part of the brand’s new strategy to monitor social media trends to drive content that resonates with consumers.
“It’s hard to be this small brand in loud, cluttered space, so following these trends and tapping into conversations that are already happening is allowing our brand voice to be a bit louder and to be relevant,” says Elit by Stolichnaya brand manager Lauren Ryan.
Following an opening party at the penthouse on June 1, the brand hosted two events tied to popular June topics: one on June 8 with a bridal party theme, and another on June 15 focused on Father’s Day, where guests took home engraved bottles of Elit that they could give as gifts to their fathers. To capitalize on the popularity of vodka on social media this month, the events included a variety of shareable experiences, including “Make Your Own Martini Bar,” where guests were encouraged to post their creations with the hashtag #makeitelit. In addition, the brand is pushing out content on social in response to trending topics.
“For example, we looked at Google Trends, [and] we saw the hashtag #fatherofthebride was trending because the actual house from the movie Father of the Bride was for sale. So we engraved a bottle and then we placed it alongside two martinis and shot a picture of it, and we were able to tap in to that conversation and saw that the engagement level was nearly triple what we usually see for a post,” Ryan says.
The physical and digital experiences also tie together. For example, the #fatherofthebride photo was taken on the balcony outside the penthouse event space, with the city skyline in the background. And at the events, brand ambassadors were made aware of what was being shared on Elit’s social media accounts so they could incorporate it into their conversations with guests.
Ryan says that in order to be effective in their response to social media chatter, they operate with a rapid response mindset: “Our team is small and nimble and works very quickly; [otherwise], in a few minutes the conversation is over and the online world is on to the next thing."