Hendricks is an oddly original gin infused with Rose & Cucumber that has been delighting & exciting drinkers with unusual escapades for decades. But in a context where craft gin competitors were exploding in popularity and the hospitality industry was struggling, Hendricks needed to cut through the clutter like lemon through tonic. And with Hendricks awareness at 52% vs 80% for key competitors, the challenge was a double shot: Be unwaveringly unique, and do so at a grand scale.

The ongoing pandemic was and still is an unpredictable beast that has ravaged the emotional mindset of consumers, forcing millions to live in a harrowing hyper-reality perpetuated by constant media coverage. This wave of sameness across not just their media habits, but their locked-down lives, meant that consumers were craving an escape to something different, unreal, and inherently positive.

Introducing our creative platform “An Eye for the Unusual” - an idea that would celebrate the unique nature of Hendrick's as a brand that invites the curious crowd to escape the conventional through distinct and recognisable creative, encouraging them to take a walk on the peculiar side, and rewarding them for embracing the unusual.

Combining cultural insight with our deep understanding of the Hendrick's brand as a creator of the curious and unusual led us to our strategic solution: Deliver disrupting, untraditional experiences within traditional media spaces to curious white spirit drinkers all over Australia, shifting their focus from the same to the unusual, to drive awareness & trial of Hendrick's Gin.

We wanted to raise the bar for unusual and unexpected executions, and we did so literally, through A Most Unusual Campaign – A delightfully unique array of light projections, murals, pop-up bars, and more, all centered around a Hot Air Balloon Bar in the sky.

Our radio partnership with SCA saw listeners get the chance to win their own flight in the Most Unusual Bar, by keeping an eye out for the Hendricks Gin balloon and taking a picture to go into the draw. Without stopping there, we took talent Ned and Josh in the air and on the air, broadcasting their breakfast show from the Hendricks balloon in a media first.

Over to NOVA in Sydney, we used a similar approach with Fitzy & Whippa, running a promotion to give listeners a ride in the Most Unusual Bar. This culminated in another market first, in the form of a hot-air pursuit with Matt De Groot in the Nova Helicopter, doing traffic and weather while following our Hendricks balloon.

Our approach was rounded out using 3D ads across Spotify that offered next level immersion, targeted to multiple audiences including Alcohol Intenders, Foodies, and Entertainment Enthusiasts.

Hundreds of pieces of UGC. Thousands of meters flown. Over 147 million media impacts, and over 10.8 million reached through PR. The most important results? A 29% increase in year-on-year sales, and 35% increase in YoY sales of 9 Litre cases, made possible by a 30% increase in brand awareness and 42% increase in consideration. A most unusual success.