We created a digital platform where anyone could submit their alternative nightlife idea, and each week we supported the most creative idea with ¥10.000 (~$1500)… without any rules to follow.

Artist & entrepreneur Edison Chen joined us to get the word out on social media and choose which ideas to support each week. After being overwhelmed by the amount of creative submissions, even from smaller rural cities, we expanded the campaign.

We decided to create a campaign mechanism that for once favors creators in smaller cities over those in bigger cities. For one night we supported 100 parties in 100 cities. People could vote for the ideas they wanted to represent their city. With the twist that we only supported one idea per city, the chance of getting funded ?was bigger in smaller cities.

On New Year's Eve we supported 100 alternative parties in 100 different Chinese cities. Giving them each ¥10.000, Absolut vodka, some party essentials, and no rules to follow.

With simple means we reached people and places we could only have dreamed about. We got

1000+ creative submissions from 182 (!) different Chinese cities. We funded 130 creative nightlife ideas, including 30 weekly ideas and then 100 party ideas for New Year's Eve.

The platform had 600,000+ unique visits. Social media posts and shares by us, Edison Chen and users resulted in a total of 82,000,000 impressions and a ROI of 2,633%*.

Over the course of a year Absolut had a 7% sales increase, and we got enough UGC content to make a coffee table book about alternative nightlife in China.

But more importantly, we showed that there are creative people all over China, inspiring millennials to believe in themselves and giving them a reason to fall in love with Absolut.

* The ROI is calculated based on the estimate average that 1 impression is worth ¥1.