Smirnoff RTD – On to The Next Beat

Music connects brands to people. The question was, how would Smirnoff RTD’s do this differently, in a way that resonates with its core 18 – 24 target audience at the peak of COVID-19 national lockdown and ban on alcohol sales?

Fresh AF pro-actively came up with Smirnoff On to The Next Beat EP, a campaign that paired 3 of SA’s dopest music artists with 3 producers, all from non-related genres, challenging them to create a 3-track EP in a controlled amount of time.

First up was “Culture Vulture” hitmaker 25K, teaming up with renowned award-winning producer Makwa repping K1. Makwa is well-known for his refreshing take on Kwaito-infused music he calls “The Mzonkonko Sound”. Up next, was Hip-Hop producer Wichi 1080, paired up with multi-platinum-selling Afro-Soul songstress Ami Faku. Lastly, the Queen of Amapiano, Sha Sha joined forces with DJ, producer and songwriter DJ Smokes.

Zkhiphani went behind the scenes to give audiences an exclusive look into how their faves create bangers and packaged it into a mini-docuseries powered by Smirnoff RTD’s and exclusive to Zkhiphani’s YouTube channel. The campaign launched with 30-second social promos driving consumer click-throughs to the full episodes. This was supported by select digital-partner platforms, influencers and radio to create excitement and anticipation for the EP. The EP was finally released and fans finally got the chance to hear it.

The campaign hashtags were #SmirnoffOntoTheNextBeatEP and #OntoTheNextBeatEP. #SmirnoffOntoTheNextBeatEP generated 160 million + impressions, with a reach of 7 million + and #OntoTheNextBeatEP generated 160 million + impressions, with a reach of 8 million + within an 8-week period across digital, exceeding the client’s expectations. This helped not only create brand talkability, but more importantly, helped Smirnoff RTD stay top-of-mind thanks to Fresh AF’s brilliant idea.