Absolut Scales Experiential Program & Conquers Influencer Marketing

Splash Success Story

25 cities.

50 VIP-only events.

1,500 tastemakers.

1 event marketing platform.

The Situation

More awareness.

When Absolut Elyx was introduced in 2013, it was dubbed “one of the best and most significant vodka releases in years.” For vodka drinkers with a more discerning palate, Absolut Elyx hit the spot. Copper distilled and masterfully handcrafted, this long-awaited release quickly lived up to its name as the world’s first true luxury vodka.

To introduce the brand to the masses, Absolut and its influencer agency the projects* had one goal: Let the whole world know about Absolut Elyx, but fiercely maintain an atmosphere of exclusiveness.

The Challenge

Give trendsetters a taste of the Absolut Elyx experience.

They got to work a brilliant plan: For one year, they would host a series of intimate, VIP-only events for influencers across the U.S. The sole purpose was to give trendsetters a taste of the Absolut Elyx experience, and a reason to spread the word in their circles.

Each event contained three essential ingredients:

VIP Guests

The guests were artists in Miami, mixology aficionados in Chicago, high-powered business executives in New York City, social media stars in Los Angeles, and other influencers in the art, music, business, philanthropic, fashion, and tech circles.

Exclusive Venue

The venues were the kinds of places that embodied the Absolut Elyx brand. Like Madam Geneva, the secret cocktail lounge in Manhattan’s East Village, and Andrea's, a restaurant tucked in the casino of the Encore in Las Vegas.

On-Brand Theme

The event themes ranged from 1-on-1 martini mixology courses called “Cocktail Cabinet,” to a luxurious VIP rooftop bash during Art Basel in Miami called “Casa Elyx.”

Their Solution - 01

A custom training program for the Absolut Elyx team.

To kick off the campaign, Splash conducted a 1-day training session in LA to teach the Elyx team how to use Splash to pull off the perfect event series. The curriculum covered a little bit of everything:

Splash

CRM

To help event hosts do what they do best: curate and manage the perfect invite list.

Sender

For queuing up the perfect event email sequence and to entice new influencers to be Elyx event hosts.

Design

Tools

For easily swapping out the time, date & location of each event on the schedule.

Custom

Surveys

For collecting post-event feedback from all attendees.

Their Solution - 02

A scalable event system.

The design of the Elyx event program was based on a "distributed host" model. This meant that each Elyx event host was encouraged to recruit influential attendees to host their own private events, too.

Using Splash, the influencer program could scale exponentially. That's because every tool at their disposal—from the save-the-date email template to the post-event attendee survey—could be replicated and customized for each event host. The best part? Every piece of data, from RSVPs to survey results, was funneled directly back to the Elyx team. In real-time.

Their Solution - 03

A suite of beautiful, scalable event assets.

Splash gave the Elyx team complete creative control over the look and feel of their event pages and email templates. Every page was distinctly on-brand, and most important—conveyed to every event host and attendee that they were part of something special.

But the best part? Efficiency. When a new event was added to the schedule, an Elyx program manager could create a gorgeous event page & email sequence in minutes, and empower the event host to do what they do best: Get the right people in the room.

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