Nobody values diversity, originality, and acceptance like Heineken brand, Desperados, the original tequila flavoured beer. Their mission is to rewrite party rules by creating original, inclusive and experimental party experiences. From the world’s deepest pool party, Deep House, to the zero-gravity music festival, Bass Drop; Desperados is committed to igniting the party spirit everywhere and anywhere for everyone.

During the pandemic, Desperados gave fundraising power to people's feet with Rave to Save – the world’s first dance-powered fundraising app and virtual party experience which allowed dancers to support shuttered club venues remotely.

When live returned, virtual experiences were so 2020, but the connection value Desperados found in Rave to Save remained. So, Desperados crafted the reverse pivot: an all-new purpose-driven experience that would reignite the party spirit on public dance floors and raise funds for inclusive causes.

First event targets

• Fundraiser: € 10.000

• Total steps: less than 1M

Rave to Save 2.0 was the world’s most euphoric, gamified dance-driven fundraising experience. The more people danced, the more money they raised for inclusive causes. The more intense, the more euphoric and better the party.

It was a true unifying experience where an individual’s dance steps contributed to the group goal of raising money for inclusive causes (Stonewall and Women in Music) and unlocked both individual and group rewards.

As an evolution of the 2021 virtual concept, Desperados partnered with entertainment companies, Elrow and Live Nation to seamlessly integrate Rave to Save 2.0 in festivals and club nights across Europe. Bringing the experience to life for a diverse audience.

To align with Desperados’ values of diversity, inclusivity and originality, each event featured a diverse line-up of entertainment with a higher percentage of female DJs and LGBTQ+ performers.

Dancefloors are meant to be for everyone. However, 1 in 3 people from the LGBTQIA+ community have experienced discrimination on the dance floor, a community that originally pioneered house and dance music.

With the return of live events, Desperados saw an opportunity. As a brand at the heart of party culture, Desperados had to stop the dance floor being the problem and turn it into the solution by uniting dancers towards a common goal.

Desperados targeted Gen-Z and Millennials in the European party scene who want to participate in memorable experiences, enjoy the freedom of releasing their energy in a space of shared interests and are champions for inclusion.

Desperados studied how dance and altruism affect the body by releasing endorphins in the brain to create a feeling of euphoria. Gamification has a similar reaction. So, what if they went 3 for 3 in a single unifying experience?

Upon arrival at the venue, guests received wristbands of various colors and were encouraged to download Rave to Save via QR code.

App Technology

For the live experience, we revamped Rave to Save into a pedometer-driven app and integrated it with Desperados branded LED wristbands to capture the dancer’s individual movement data. Every step was counted and translated into a monetary donation for inclusive charities.

Gamification

The experience was gamified with video displays encouraging everyone to keep moving to unlock new levels and rewards. As the crowd hit major milestones, they were rewarded with incredible moments such as confetti drops and live performances which increased in scale throughout the night.

Wrap-up

Dancers could access online profiles to track their statistics, prize wins and learn more about upcoming events. A bespoke Rave report allowed dancers to celebrate their progress across social. Wristbands were collected and refurbished each night to limit waste.

first Rave to Save 2.0 experience launched at the Hype Festival in Oberhausen, Germany for 3 days and it was epic!

• Fundraiser -- Actual: €15.000 raised vs. Target: € 10.000

• Total steps -- Actual: Close to 1.5M vs Expected: less than 1M

Since then, the experience has activated at 15 events in 6 countries, bringing together the European dance audience. Results have been mind-blowing with thousands downloading the app to party and stay connected with Desperados.

Final fundraiser totals

• Audience steps: 21,000,000

• Money raised and donated to Women in Music and Stonewall: €116,000

The experience was featured in a total of 937 articles and social posts published by great titles like Mail Online, Contagious and The Verge. Earned and organic social generated 482M impressions, and a total of 530M media impressions proving that the experience strongly resonated with the Gen-Z and millennial audience.