Jack Daniel’s The Toastmakers celebrated two American legends—Jack Daniel’s and Frank Sinatra—and the mutual admiration between the two. Creatively, our goal was to curate an online 100th birthday toast to Frank with Jack. Through a series of toasts modeled after Sinatra’s livin’ large way of life, we invited fans to figuratively or literally raise a glass of Jack to Frank and share a photo or video on Instagram with the hashtag #ToastSinatraContest for the chance to win a Sinatra-style weekend in Las Vegas.

The Toastmakers came to life on Instagram to leverage Sinatra’s legacy to encourage millennials to interact with the brand. During the six-week period (11/2/15-12/12/15) leading up to Frank’s centennial birthday celebration, paid and owned media engaged Instagram followers new and old.

Every fan who posted a toast was entered for the chance to recreate a Sinatra-style Vegas weekend complete with tux fittings, limos and a private jet. Twelve different brand-sponsored toasts captured the spirit of Frank and the Rat Pack and, along with influencer and celebrity posts, inspired fans to join in the toast.

Overall the paid campaign delivered 68 million impressions, garnering 2.7 million actions (likes, comments, video views) from consumers targeted with promoted toasts. 2.3 million individual consumers took action, at a campaign action rate of 4%.

In the final week of the 6-week campaign, Jack Daniel’s followers grew 94%, becoming the #1 whiskey brand with 88k followers on Instagram, surpassing Johnnie Walker.

The significant growth in followers did not compromise engagement, and by the end of the campaign Jack Daniel’s led the top 10 liquor brands on Instagram in engagement rate (2.85%). Average likes increased 64% compared to pre-campaign content, indicating that the Sinatra resonated extremely well with both new and existing fans of the brand.

Residual follower growth for the brand has continued (currently exceeding 135k) and engagement rate remains extremely high at 3.57%.