It’s in our spirits: How Absolut Vodka worked with Twitch streamers in Italy to increase their brand awareness and consideration with an engaged audience
A drink can be a great companion for a night of gaming with friends. So how can a beverage brand get in on the fun—especially in a place that already has a rich food-and-drink culture?
With the right combination of campaign chemistry and an engaged audience, Pernod Ricard’s Absolut Vodka was able to increase its brand awareness and consideration with the Twitch community in Italy.
Absolut wanted to showcase that it was more than a beverage brand. The company wanted to demonstrate that it was an agent for positive change, and when it’s connected with an engaged audience, the possibilities are limitless. Absolut’s mission was to highlight the connection between its brand and gaming, especially since vodka is the spirit Twitch users in Europe most associate with esports and gaming.1 Therefore, Absolut determined Twitch was the perfect place to reach new customers.
Harnessing the power of Twitch influencers
In order to connect with this audience, Absolut created ads featuring global talent like British singer-songwriter MNEK and professional gamer Ricki Ortiz. The campaign started with gaming-themed ads featuring Ricki Ortiz to drive contextual relevance and introduce Absolut to viewers in a relevant and engaging way. As momentum for the campaign increased, Absolut Vodka expanded into new categories of content. For example, the beverage company reached viewers with music-themed ads featuring MNEK while they watched music livestreams.
To increase engagement and solidify relationships with the gaming community, Absolut also collaborated with popular Italian Twitch streamers JustGabbo and Kurolily to run competitions on their respective channels. Those competitions were promoted on the Homepage Carousel to further the campaign’s reach. To ensure brand safety, ads were shown to 18+ adults, ran between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. local time, and were not shown to audiences younger than 18 years of age— otherwise known as the ‘Twitch Triple Lock’ for alcohol.
Creating an authentic streaming experience
Tapping into influencer talent and creating original content paid off with strong results for Absolut. The campaign generated 4 million total impressions and 1.1 million unique user visits.2 Audiences were also engaged, as the ads had a 74.5% video completion rate.3 Additionally, the influencer streamers saw results for their own channels too, receiving a total of 121K unique views.4
Pernod Ricard, the beverage company that owns Absolut Vodka, saw positive results from advertising on Twitch.
“Twitch helped Pernod Ricard to assess the potential of Twitch and unlock new sources of equity for our brands amongst Twitchers and Gamers,” said brand manager Elena Pedrazzi.5
Brands that are looking to emulate Absolut Vodka’s success should keep in mind that Twitch is an active and engaged community with micro communities that form around different games, topics, and events. By leveraging the website’s Homepage Carousel, creating engaging content, and collaborating with influencers, brands could increase awareness and consideration for their products.
1-5 Twitch Advertising case study, Absolut Vodka, Italy, 2021