​​​​John Foust​

Introduction:

Our challenge was to take a new, novel brand concept, and find a way to make it into something big which will gain the attention of consumers. In the case of our group, this brand was Alcohoot, a portable breathalyzer which connected to one's cell phone. The Breathalyzer then sent a reading to Alcohoot's free app, which showed the user their B.A.C., could recommend restaurants to sober up at, gave them means to contact a cab to get home, and provided them with a personalized set of tips on how to avoid having a hangover the next morning.

The catch? The product costs $130. While the manufacturer justified this claim due to Alcohoot's "police-grade accuracy," there was very little chance that people would be interested in paying this much for a novelty. To make matters worse, a cheaper, filter-based phone breathalyzer already existed, and was half the price of Alcohoot. This breathalyzer had also gained publicity via the popular ABC show Shark Tank, making our more accurate device a harder sell.

 

 

Understanding the Consumer: 

 

If we were going to make Alcohoot a hit, we had to understand who we were marketing to. We sat down as a team and discussed the potential consumers. It was clear that this was a product aiming at a younger crowd, both due to its aesthetics and its previous marketing. Since we saw the potential for both a B2C and a B2B approach, we split the concept apart. After numerous discussions, brainstorming sessions, and research on both the alcohol industry and the most recent statistics on college-aged drinking, we developed three creative briefs, all of which tied together under the same problem. 

 

Brief 1: The Bargoer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brief 2: The Bartender

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brief 3: College 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We knew that simply using the breathalyzer wouldn't be enough to make ALcohoot stand out. Our team felt that there was the potential to make them the alcohol safety company. From here, a variety of wild, colorful, and youth-oriented creative ideas came about. 

 

The Creative Work:

 

 

In the end, all of these concepts came together, they stayed on-brand while also expanding into new territory that had never been seen before.

 

We had expanded the brand identity for Alcohoot further than it had originally aimed.

 

Our messages for these targets were merged into the following concepts:

1. Our B2B target remained bars, but our B2C target became savvy drinkers. This target was between the ages of 25 and 35, predominantly male, and while generally laid back with many purchases in their life, they were also prone to buying the latest, most interesting gadgets. They have income of at least $50,000, and having graduated college, they were typically working a fully paid job.

2. This crowd had stories to tell, and when they drink, they drink with friends.

3. ​They were typically in cities and busier areas. 

 

With these in mind, I then came up with a particular concept for a special "bar night" where Alcohoot could demonstrate its app, urinal-based monitors, and other material which would reinforce the new message that Alcohoot meets these consumers where they are. 

 

The campaign would last for 12 weeks, and was aimed at 10 cities, starting in the East Coast and ending in the West Coast. The 10 cities I selected were chosen due to having the highest amount of DUI cases in America. 

 

The campaign would work out as follows: 

 

One week per city.The campaign will take place within the following path:

WEEKS 1-3: EAST COAST

- Jacksonville, FL

- Charlotte, NC

- Columbus, OH

WEEKS 4-6: MIDWEST

- Indianapolis, IN

- Fort Worth, TX

- Phoenix, AZ

WEEKS 7-10: WEST COAST

- San Diego, CA

- Los Angeles, CA

- San Jose, CA

- San Francisco, CA

 

The campaign was to unfold as follows: 

 

• For the first two weeks before beginning the campaign, fliers and print material would be sent to potential bars (our B2B) with high clientele and popularity in the area in order to gain their permission. We would establish the twitter-linked microsite in this time (see below) to garner attention from the public as well.

Days 1-2: Setting up the neon “fortune” signs at key locations to catch the eye of bargoers at night. Installing fortune pull-ticket machines at traffic-heavy areas where people would be most interested in pulling one. These tickets would include a similar fortune/weird message, while featuring the name of the event, time, and location on the back of the ticket. - The twitter would be active each evening with its messaging, and also would provide snippets of information about the bar night.

Days 3-4:- Net/TV Spots for Alcohoot are broadcast nationally, with particular focus in the region where we are campaigning that week. Twitter, Tickets and Neon Signs continue.

Day 5: The Microsite is updated with more concrete information about where the event will be, Alcohoot’s involvement (as there will be links to the site on the other material) and when it starts.

Day 6: The Bar Night (see below for creative).

People will remember the Alchoot brand and its connection to this technology. They will recognize that Alcohoot is looking out for them.

Day 7: Move to the next city, but maintain previous advertising. The signs, pull tickets are removed to use in the next city. - Twitter will begin promoting at the next city. This campaign will go on like this for 12 weeks.