#disarrono

Heads up! This amaretto hot chocolate recipe is for adults only. Even if you remove the booze, something’s kinda missing. Omitting the liquor actually takes away quite a bit from the intended flavor, but the chocolate vibe will not be lost. The amaretto adds even more warmth and richness without going into sweetness overload, and the tequila gives it a much welcomed kick. Also, this is my…

Disaronno

10 Days/10 Stories/10 Cities

Taking a cultural cue from the Decameron, and creating an opportunity to tell the Disaronno story, in line with the tagline ‘Open the Possibilities’ the idea driving this transmedia campaign is ‘storytelling through mixology’.

A bartender is more than someone who serves drinks. He is a confidante, storyteller, creator and inventor. This campaign recognises the bartender’s expertise and give amateurs the chance to showcase and perfect their talents on- and offline in some of the World’s most exclusive cocktail bars and beyond.

Ultimately, by encouraging people from different cultures to create their own personal drinks experience, we can demonstrate the versatility of Disaronno and intrigue consumers enough to want to develop their own experience.

Inspiration

The Decameron

A mediaeval collection of 100 tales written by Italian author, Giovanni Boccaccio. Written around the middle of the 14th Century, the book is known for its bawdy tales of love, wit and witticism, practical jokes and worldly initiation. The commercial and urban values of quick wit, sophistication, and intelligence are treasured, while the vices of stupidity and dullness are cured, or punished

It opens with a description of the Black Death and leads into an introduction of a group of seven young women and three young men who flee from plague-ridden Florence to a villa in the countryside for two weeks. To pass the time, every night, all of the members tell one story each. Although fourteen days pass, two days each week are set aside: one day for chores and one holy day during which no work is done. In this manner, 100 stories are told by the end of the ten days.

The Disaronno Story

In 1525, a Saronno church commissioned artist Bernardino Luini, one of Leonardo da Vinci's pupils, to paint their sanctuary with frescoes. As the church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Luini needed to depict the Madonna, but was in need of a model. He found his inspiration in a young widowed innkeeper, who became his model and lover. Out of gratitude and affection, the woman wished to give him a gift. Her simple means did not permit much, so she steeped apricot kernels in brandy and presented the resulting concoction to a touched Luini.

The Challenge

Using the Disaronno Facebook page/a campaign microsite, budding bartenders create and upload a video of themselves, (all videos are also posted to a Disaronno YouTube channel) telling a 30 second story to camera. The drink must be a classic Disaronno recipe, so the story they invent around it, as well as their own speed, skill and acumen are under scrutiny.

The site is open for a two week period, before fans vote on their favourite videos, which in turn are reviewed by judge, Salvatore Calabrese – one of the world’s most celebrated bartenders: http://www.salvatore-calabrese.co.uk.

The Opportunity

The ten best are then at random (as long at they’re not assigned a bar in their country of origin/work) assigned a bar and a city from the list below, where each contestant is given ten days work experience. Their progress is charted online – as part of the task each contestant must make a video diary, submit blog entries and respond to Facebook fans.

Florence, Italy: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/florence/kikuya-bar-in-florence.htm

Seattle, US: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/seattle/cascadia-bar-in-seattle.htm

Montreal, Canada: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/montreal/edgar-hypertaverne-bar-in-montreal.htm

Buenos Aires, Argentina: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/buenos-aires/gran-bar-danzon-in-buenos-aires.htm

Reykjavik, Iceland: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/rekyjavik/gaukur-a-stong-bar-in-reykjavik.htm

St Petersburg, Russia: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/st-petersburg/taleon-club-bar-in-st-petersburg.htm

Beirut, Lebanon: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/beirut/b-018-bar-in-beirut.htm

Bengaluru, India: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/bengaluru/couch-in-bengaluru.htm

Seoul, South Korea: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/seoul/gecko-s-garden-bar-in-seoul.htm

Melbourne, Australia: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/melbourne/the-collection-bar-in-melbourne.htm

The Test

After learning, the tricks of the trade and honing their skills among top professionals in a part of the world that’s entirely new to them, the top 10 amateur bartenders are given two tasks to complete.

Their first task is to find a local legend/story, create a new cocktail (to include Disaronno) inspired by the story and repeat the entry process effortlessly with another 30 second video. However, each of these 30 second spots will be professionally shot by a production company, and used in an international television campaign.

The top 5 deemed by Disaronno fans and Salvatore to show the most progress, skill and enthusiasm then move onto the live final at Salvatore’s bar at the Playboy Club in London.

Each bartender is then assigned a ‘character’ from the Disaronno story and must create and a cocktail that represents that character. As part of a team, the finalists must create a complementary, yet distinctive set of flavours that sum up in several glasses, the story of the artist Luini, his muse and her token of gratitude.

The Result

The winner gets a £5,000 prize, the prestige and a host of international contacts through the process of being involved in the competition. Essentially they’ll be equipped with enough expertise to leave their old life/job behind and could (possibly) become the ‘face’ of Disaronno in future campaigns.

Executions

Digital

As outlined above, the main thrust of the campaign is digital – with a particular focus on social media engagement. With such a strong online following, it’s incredibly important to maintain traction and include engaged fans, whilst attracting new traffic through the campaign and competition. While the social media component has been considered in detail above, there are other aspects of digital marketing we could explore to raise awareness of the campaign.

Keyword Optimisation

We investigate the viability of paid search - potentially bidding on generic keywords that would interest the right kind of entrant.

  Banner Ads/Media Buying

Depending on budgets, we should consider an impactful set of ads designed to draw traffic to the microsite. I’d recommend a sizeable Facebook spend on the competition – focusing on a predominantly young middle aged male demographic – 28-45 year olds.

Online PR

Get the right kind of advocates writing about the campaign and we stand a good chance of influencing authentic ‘word of mouth’ endorsement. Blogger outreach should be a core focus. By targeting key drinks, cocktail and bloggers, giving them exclusive access to contestants and Salvatore, we have the opportunity to curry favour with them.

A note on TV and Print

As outlined previously, the proposed TV commercials will be professionally shot ‘stories’ featuring each of the ten finalists. This means that these TVCs will air after the online contest has started. Although they are part of the overall ‘10 Cities’ campaign, they need to be standalone pieces designed to entice consumers into trying/experimenting with Disaronno, rather than driving awareness of the competition. The same applies to print ads. They still follow the same style, positioning and messaging, but are individual assets in their own right.

The added benefit here is tacit. The competition itself will, thanks to online participation create a good deal more user generated content and conversation about the brand, and different ways to enjoy the drink. Therefore it’s important that both TV and print executions incorporate some sort of prompt (links/urls/sharing buttons or even mobile scannable QR codes) to send consumers online.

TV

As outlined above, the concept for the TV campaign is a professional, slick, stylised version of each aspiring bartender’s storytelling/concocting video. While each will have their own distinct style, there will be a prescriptive format as each finalist aims to tell their story in 30 seconds.

Disaronno TVC Script

TELEVISION SCRIPT TEMPLATE

DESCRIPTION     : TV – 30”

DATE                                     : 100911

IDEA TITLE                           :  Rasputin

_________________________________________________________________________

Opening shot: Pan of Russian bar clientele in early evening, during a cold winter. We see the elegant, young crowd, socialising, laughing and drinking.

Camera shifts attention on a young American bartender, keen to catch the viewer’s eye, as if welcoming them in person to bar.

SAM (to camera): Good evening, I’m Sam. Welcome to St. Petersburg.

As he speaks, he flips a bottle of vodka, catches it, and adds a good slug into a tall glass.

SAM: Here in Russia, a lot of people talk about the legendary Rasputin – a Siberian hell raiser, who became the Tsarina’s most trusted advisor, after he healed her son of haemophilia…

He adds cranberry juice, whilst keeping his focus on the camera.

SAM: But the story goes they got too close and even became lovers. But you know what the rumour mill can be like. Everyone loves a good story.

He produces a bottle of Disaronno. Close up of the distinctive square bottle. He taps the bottle’s cap so that it loosens, spinning upwards flawlessly. He pours a generous amount into the drink.

SAM: A lot of people thought he had too much influence over the Russian Royal family, and one night a group shot and captured him, gave him enough poison to kill five men…

He expertly adds a slug of ginger beer and a few dashes of Angostura Bitters to the mix

Close Up: His hand adds ice cubes to the drink

SAM: …and threw him in the ice cold Neva River, or so I’m told…..

He stirs the drink with a mixer stick, raises the glass and takes a sip.

SAM: This one’s for you Grigori, Budem zdorovi.

VO: Disaronno: Open the Possibilities.

ENDS

Print/Outdoor

The print/outdoor executions intend to showcase the different environments where Disaronno can be enjoyed, whilst giving a nod to the idea of storytelling through cocktail mixing.

In terms of media placement, I feel that international upmarket culture/lifestyle titles would be the most appropriate outlets for a print campaign ­– magazines like GQ, Esquire, Fast Company and Monocle.

Headline: Stirring Stuff

A small group of two women – a petite blonde and a tall, lithe black girl and a young fashionable man in his late twenties watch on as a bartender holds centre court. They all look like models. In fact they probably are.

The trio hang on every word the bartender says. He gestures expressively with one hand, whilst mixing a drink effortlessly with the other.

The man has a tumbler containing Disaronno on the rocks in his hand. The bartender appears to be mixing a cocktail for the black girl, while the blonde girl sips a similar looking cocktail through a straw. The different looks on their faces indicate their engagement with the story.

Tagline: Disaronno: Open the Possibilities

Check out: 10 Cities/10 Stories/10 Days at www.facebook.com/disaronno

Headline: Give It Your Own Twist

A man (older – greying at temples – but still good looking) entertains dinner guests – two similarly aged male friends sat around a small table – an informal, but effortlessly classy setting.

He has set down three highball glasses, filled with Disaronno and ice – there’s a large bottle of the spirit, and a soda water ‘spray decanter’ sat on the table. He smiles and appears to be adding some lime zest to the glasses as he tells them a story. One of the friends is watching what he’s doing, and the other’s listening to what he’s saying. Both look equally perplexed, but pleasantly surprised.

Tagline: Disaronno: Open the Possibilities

Check out: 10 Cities/10 Stories/10 Days at www.facebook.com/disaronno