In Canada, brand journalism is in its infancy. Content is typically understood as an output of words, images and videos, published and amplified via a relatively small number of channels and digital properties. There are very few brands in Canada that approach content as a top-tier publisher, capable of telling high-quality stories at the calibre of what might be found in The Economist, Mashable or The New Yorker.

Absolut’s approach was two-fold: a) Create one-of-a-kind Content opportunities via gorgeous, interesting, innovative real-world objects, ideas and experiences; and b) Provide journalistically-oriented, brand coverage of those objects, ideas and experiences that undergo the editorial rigor of some of the world’s top publications.

Canadian companies and marketers aren’t thinking about content in this way. Most brands continue to dabble in content, rather than going all-in on a content marketing strategy that combines real-world physical objects and ideas with abstract thought and inventive visual storytelling.

Events were executed in markets where established Maker communities intersected with our target. These activations fueled content for the first-ever Canadian ABSOLUT site—a brand publishing platform built specifically for rich, middleweight content.

Everything we did became a content opportunity. We published daily, leaving playlists, recipes, how-to guides, quizzes, GIFs and bartender profiles and more for our audience to discover.

Each story had multiple assets which we converted into snackable social-sized posts, so that every story on the hub could be shared socially, continually driving people back to the hub—the perfect content cycle that resonated with our target.

By successfully cracking the Maker influencer layer, and providing the right content and experiences, Absolut was able to inspire and acquire a new generation of loyal brand fans.

Program highlights include:

• In the first 90 days alone, we doubled social share of conversation (SOC) across the vodka category (incl. significant SOC against key competitors); saw #MakerFest trend nationally on Twitter; generated 1,400 per cent more traffic from one piece of branded content than a $150,000 media partnership; and made significant gains in all of our communities (2,304 new Facebook fans [and from April to December increased overall engagement by an astounding 1,445 per cent]; 5,945 new Twitter followers; and a whopping 175 per cent increase in purely organic Instagram followers).

• We reached key stakeholders in-person in three of the country’s biggest markets, exceeding all expectations (44,331 event impressions; 8,831 1:1 event engagements; and 6,275 samples distributed)

• ABSOLUT owned MakerFest, which extended nationally and provided social-digital content, publishing daily because—bottom line—our branded content worked and helped reinforce Absolut’s leadership position at the centre of creativity

• We generated media coverage, too—13 million media impressions’ worth—including social/media coup The Huffington Post Canada