Hampenberg, Brown, Stine Bramsen, Nik&Jay, Medina & Apollo

Challenge:

Back in 2011, Danish travel agency Apollo approached STEPitUP with the objective of adding value to the brand, giving their guests a unique experience for the sake of viral marketing and bringing the brand top of mind with logo exposure. STEPitUP found the perfect match in legendary hip-hop act Nik & Jay and later Danish DJs Hampenberg & Brown in collaboration with Alphabeat-singer Stine Bramsen.

Campaign:

Apollo started flirting with the music industry by buying pre-rolls on music videos of beloved Danish acts as Nik & Jay with “Gi Mig Dine Tanker” and Medina with “For Altid”. Apollo co-sponsored the music video for Nik & Jay’s hit single “Mod Solnedgangen”, while the video was shot at one of Apollo’s destinations. Nik & Jay later performed on another hotel for the guests of Apollo exclusively. It was a move towards adding further value to their brand and creating a buzz and word-of-mouth-effect around the exclusive experiences.

Apollo was later sponsoring Morten Hampenberg & Alexander Brown’s music video of “I Want You (To Want Me Back)” featuring Stine Bramsen from Alphabeat with product placement and pre-roll. The music video was also shot at one of Apollo’s exclusive travel destinations in Greece, while the trio performed on strategically chosen destinations with actor Sarah Grünewald. Apollo had exclusivity on the music video for three days on their Facebook page, before the official release, as well as pictures from the shoot and video greetings from the artists. Apollo also made it possible for travel-shopping visitors on apollorejser.dk to download the single and get a closer look at the hotel used in the music video.

Effect:

The focus on music content was a big success for Apollo. The singles “For altid” by Medina, “Gi’ Mig Dine Tanker” and “Mod Solnedgangen” by Nik & Jay all reached more than 5 million views on Youtube with product placement and pre-rolls of Apollo. Together with the exclusive concerts it was the key in Apollo’s new viral marketing strategy, which gave them an edge on the saturated Danish travel agency market.

Dorthe Rømer, Marketing Manager at Apollo

“I believed that by doing some of these activities around music with STEPitUP would add value around the Apollo brand, which means that the guests received a good experience, that they will remember the next time they are in the market for travel buying. The Nik & Jay concert was hopefully creating a lot of talk that people will take with them and pass on in their networks.”

Camille Jones & Belvedere Vodka

Challenge:

Back in 2012, Belvedere approached STEPitUP with the objective of finding an ambassador, who could be the face of Belvedere in the medias and perform on special events. STEPitUP found the perfect match in Danish singer Camille Jones.

Campaign:

The output was a campaign focusing on two events with Camille Jones as the main attraction. On a Friday night in mid-June, Belvedere hosted their first event with Camille Jones as their ambassador. The event marked the release of Camille Jones’ new single “Tro, Håb og Kærlighed”. The guests on the exclusive cocktail bar 1105 in the heart of Copenhagen could enjoy Camille Jones as DJ, while the award-winning bartenders shone with unrivaled Belvedere Vodka drinks. The second event was a Belvedere RED event held at the exclusive nightclub Zen. The purpose of the night was to donate money to the good cause of RED, which is to fight AIDS in Africa. Camille Jones hosted the Danish edition of the Belvedere Vodka event, while international ambassadors counted legends like Usher and U2-leadsinger Bono. The guest was invited exclusively to the event, where they could experience Camille Jones perform acoustic versions of her hit singles and buy the limited edition (Belvedere)RED-vodka, raising money to fight AIDS.

Effect:

Belvedere was very pleased with the campaign, since it generated the needed buzz in the medias around the events, while Camille Jones made some unforgettable performances with a glass of Belvedere in her hand.

Camille Jones, Singer, DJ & Songwriter:

“I have worked with STEPitUP in 2012. The result was a commercial collaboration between Belvedere and me. This was just the right brand match for an artist like me and since that STEPitUP has been responsible for all consulting and brand building for me as an artist. I’m really pleased to work with Hanna as she is serious about finding the right commercial partner. I have never felt that I compromise myself or my brand and Hanna are always aware that I preserve the integrity, which means that I, as an artist, feel safe and in good hands with STEPitUP.”

Sisse Marie & Smirnoff

Challenge:

In the spring of 2011, Smirnoff approached STEPitUP with the objective of finding an artist, who could boost their on-trade activities in Denmark. STEPitUP found the perfect match in Danish singer Sisse Marie.

Campaign:

The output was a Sisse Marie & Smirnoff club tour in the fall of 2011 in relation to the release of Sisse Marie’s new single “Dirty Hands”. Dirty Hands also became the name of a unique drink created by Sisse Marie and made with Smirnoff, which was served at all clubs included in the tour. Every club on the tour was for a night turned into a Smirnoff club with Sisse Marie & Smirnoff POS material, Dirty Hands-drinks and meet n’ greet with the singer, which completed the experience. Sisse Marie was finally the face of Smirnoff in retail, where special “necklaces” on the bottles made it possible for fans to download her “Dirty Hands”-single for free, while buying a great bottle of vodka.

Effect:

Both Smirnoff and the club owners were satisfied with the strategic partnership, which boosted sales of Smirnoff vodka and lead many people to the clubs to see Sisse Marie perform.

Anne Pedersen, Channel Marketing Manager at Diageo:

“In our cooperation with STEPitUP, we found a perfect match between our brand Smirnoff and the artist Sisse Marie. We had not previously taken advantage of such an endorsement, but it is definitely not the last time that we will do it. It is about finding the balance that gives a great exposure for the brand, which doesn’t affect artist’s image too much. The artist must have emotions involved, so that it seems credible to the consumers. It was exactly what we got with Sisse Marie.”