Booze & Brand Equity: Don Julio's Experiential Activation in Hong Kong
Don Julio’s Halloween takeover in Hong Kong shows CMOs how cultural storytelling and experiential strategy can lift Q4 revenue.
Don Julio Tequila is turning Halloween week in Hong Kong into a citywide Día de Muertos activation, creating a live test of experiential ROI across premium bars. The campaign runs across AOAO, DarkSide, The Opposites, and Dragonfly, with themed installs and limited cocktail menus.
Diageo’s tequila unit stacked the week with guest shifts by Mexico’s HIBOL and cocktails from Handshake Speakeasy, setting clean comparisons by venue and date. The setup helps CMOs measure how cultural storytelling during festive seasons can move revenue annually in Q4 through early Q1.
Citywide activation enables comparable KPIs across venues
The Día de Muertos campaign features marigold displays, ofrendas, candles, and calaveras, plus limited-edition cocktails across the four bars. HIBOL, led by Marco Porras, appears at The Opposites on October 30 and Dragonfly on November 01. Dragonfly will also pour signatures from Handshake Speakeasy, which topped the 2024 World's 50 Best Bars list.
DarkSide adds a Latin live band and face painting from October 31 to November 02. The initiative, presented as a celebration of Mexican culture, was described by Diageo’s Sophie Kelly as honoring “love, legacy, and tradition,” aligning with Don Julio’s values.
For measurement, bartender influence is central. Industry data indicates that bartenders influence 10,976 drink decisions annually in premium venues. An estimated 88% make recommendations each shift, and 96% would recommend a brand they favor. That makes on-site advocacy a leading lever for conversion in high-spend bars.
Executive KPI slate for seasonal bar takeovers
- Venue footfall versus baseline by daypart and date
- Limited-menu sell-through and stock-outs by SKU
- Bartender recommendation uplift, share of recommendations by brand, and conversion rate
- Average check size and cocktail trade-up rate
- UGC and social media volume, plus sentiment during the activation window
- Earned media mentions and reach by outlet
APAC premiumization raises stakes for experiential spend
Asia-Pacific’s premium spirits market is competitive, with brands using experiences to stand out in crowded nightlife districts. Diageo has pegged APAC growth through cocktails and premium bars, and this season's multi-venue format is meant to give a clean read on what drives sales up.
Consumer trust also favors live events. Research shows 80% of consumers view in-person events as the most trusted marketing channel.
For CFOs and CMOs, the Hong Kong setup creates practical comparisons across similar nights, menus, and audiences. Handshake’s involvement adds a useful yardstick for “best-in-class” bar craft within the same week and city. Measurement challenges remain common in experiences, but widely used brand activation success metrics offer a baseline for attributing outcomes.
Leighton Cosseboom
Background and outlook for Q4 to Q1 planning
The Hong Kong effort builds on Diageo’s recent cultural campaigns, including a Johnnie Walker Blue Label Lunar New Year event in Sydney with curated cocktails and Mahjong games, hosted by Dan Hong and Remy Hii. Don Julio’s current activation aims to honor Mexico’s heritage through installations, guest shifts, and music, while giving the brand and venues a shared test window.
Marketers can align reporting by setting pre- and post-activation baselines, then tracking the listed KPIs across the venues they use for the campaign. Results can inform cross-market holiday programming in other Asian cities during the year-end and Lunar New Year cycles.
HIBOL appears at The Opposites on October 30 and Dragonfly on November 01. DarkSide will run live entertainment from October 31 to November 02, rounding out the activation window for data capture.
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