Title	DESPERADOS BASS DROP
Brand	HEINEKEN
Product/Service	DESPERADOS
Category	C06. Immersive Customer Experience
Entrant	WE ARE PI Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Idea Creation	WE ARE PI Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
Production	WE ARE PI Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS

Name	Company	Position
Rick Chant, Jake Kedge, Jack Samels	We Are Pi	Executive Creative Director, Creative Team

The Campaign

Desperados Bass Drop is the world’s first festival in zero-gravity, a historic event in music culture, the ultimate bass drop. More than just a party, it revealed what happens when you drop the bass in space. When the DJ dropped the bass, the pilot dropped the dance floor, sending the crowd floating in zero gravity.

Campaign Success

In June 2016, a recruitment phase encouraged consumers to enter for the chance of winning a Bass Drop ticket. We brought together 12 Desperados markets for the first time to recruit 100 people from 12 different countries to join a global experience. The two day festival took place in and above Las Vegas in October, during which we filmed the zero gravity flight using a number of cameras fixed to the plane and participants, and edited into two films told from the DJ and fans’ point of view. 75 % of the overall production budget went on the rental of zero gravity planes, as it’s such a unique location for a shoot. We didn’t have to pay for talent as plenty of influencers were willing to take part in this exclusive party resulting in authentic footage.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

This was Desperados most watched and shared content yet. With 58.1M views we blasted through Heineken completed views benchmarks by 359%, contributing to an 8.2% growth for the EU. With a social media approach that only used the most relevant social platforms, these are the results to date: • 150 million social mentions • 150 million impressions • 392K Social Engagements • 97.3% Positive Sentiment • 95% view-through-rate on Spotify made sure we got the music-lovers The campaign resulted in huge growth for Desperados own social platforms, seeing the global Facebook grow by 37.6K fans during the campaign, Instagram also saw a 270% increase in followers. Bass Drop was covered by a number of music and youth publications including Thump (VICE), MTV, Hypebeast, Mashable and more. And most importantly a group of Desperados die hards eagerly waiting our next experiment.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

This is relevant because we teamed up with DJ Mike Cervello, the neuroscientist Dr. Daniel Levitin and 100 lucky guests to unlock the physical and emotional effects of the Bass Drop. The event cumulated in a DJ set 30,000 feet above Las Vegas in a zero gravity plane. When the DJ dropped the bass, the pilot dropped the dance floor, sending the crowd floating in zero gravity. The event made for captivating footage shared on MTV, Hypebeast and more. We connected with consumers in a whole new way and it became Desperados most watched content yet.

Desperados’s mission is to become the most iconic drink of the millennial generation. We call this audience ’Anticipators’. They love to explore and always anticipate the next move that will help define their identity. In order to play a valuable role in Anticipator’s lives, we had to make more than a great advert and create an unforgettable experiment that would provide a physical release for a generation that is always thriving on the edge of experiences. We know they especially resonate with brands in the music sphere during moments of release 80% cite branded festivals and concerts as the best way to engage with them. But festivals often lack the unique innovation that our 18-24-year old consumers crave. So with Bass Drop, we wanted to prove that the sky was not the limit.