Bud Light launched Up For Whatever at Super Bowl 2014. Online, the brand’s Millennial target embraced #UpForWhatever as a reflection of their own personal attitude and outlook.

Tasked with extending the campaign’s initial success into a broader, more interactive idea, we thought: In a world where digital experiences reign supreme, what if we made that Up For Whatever mindset tangible? What if it was a destination, an actual, real place?

We found a real town that was truly Up For Whatever, and transformed it into the secret location of Whatever, USA.

In May, we kicked off our story with an iconic campaign spokesperson: The Mayor of Whatever, USA. He showed up online, on Television, and at events, encouraging consumers to audition for a chance to join him in Whatever, USA.

Trans-media storytelling reinforced Whatever, USA as a real place: content media partners reported from the town, celebrities used their own social feeds to create buzz.

Brand ambassadors played the role of Our Tourism Board, holding over 224,000 On-Premise consumer auditions.

In September, 1300 winners were selected to come experience Whatever, USA for themselves. Consumers were treated to hundreds of unexpected activities, carefully designed so no two experiences were alike. The Whatever app made it interactive. RFID bracelets made the entire weekend easily sharable.

Consumers engaged at unprecedented rates, with Earned/Shared/Owned Media creating 587 MM impressions. And the event had a real impact on the Bud Light business, reversing long-trending share erosion and dramatically increasing brand preference among their core target.

1) Awareness/recruitment: multimedia to engage millions and recruit tens of thousands.

• 22,000 On-Premise events linking video auditions to UpforWhatever.com

• Branded content proof points for Whatever USA plans.

2) Send off Events: increased frequency / intensity of audition events.

• viral UpforWhatever encounters at EDC Las Vegas and Lollapalooza, reaching 14 MM via YouTube.

• Last Call for Whatever. 350 On-Premise events the night before. Winners picked 10p local time – flew out the next morning.

3) Whatever USA Weekend: 3 epic days and nights including 9 stages, 82 unique events, and 1300 attendees.

• Branded from portal to portal: boarding passes, departure gates, planes, buses.

• Town rebranded: blue streets, 21 new store fronts, signs, lamp posts, stages, play areas.

• Overlapping events designed to provoke FOMO, and excite spontaneous discovery

• Whatever App and RFID bracelets enabled surprise, discovery, and social sharing

• Every event designed for sharing, supported by photo booths and tagging teams.

4) Recaps / post-event extensions. Digital, social and PR teams quickly curated the best and most widely shared content pieces and posts.

Engagement was exceptional:

-1.8MM LDA consumers engaged; 1.35 MM On-Premise (+300% over projections).

-204,000+ video auditions.

-Overall engagement was +40% greater than Super Bowl 2014, with website traffic +212%.

Consumers shared at unprecedented rates:

-User generated content included +37,000 posts, reaching more than 15 MM fans/followers/friends.

-Whatever, USA App made sharing simple, resulting in 2.5 MM engagements and more than 120 MM social impressions.

-Overall the entire 4 month campaign, Social Content exceeded our KPI’s, with impressions of 587 MM and Awareness increasing +267% over goal.g

Whatever, USA drove brand business results:

-Past 4 Weeks usage jumped +39% among our Event Awares vs. our Un-Aware control group (P4W: 68% Awares vs 49% Unawares).

-Reported Brand Preference grew 30% (Bud Light is for someone like me: 60% Awares vs 46% Unawares).