As the advertising agency responsible for the Consol Glass brand campaigns, human.kind was briefed to create a consumer-driven promotion over the typically high-consumption festive period. The campaign capitalised on everyone’s favourite part of the holiday season – the parties. It was out of this that the Consol Mixology cocktail campaign was born, and was intended to give consumers an immersion experience with Consol and with glass, while encouraging them to consciously choose their drinks in glass bottles during the party season and beyond. This consumption behaviour was rewarded and the key campaign message of “Win a Consol mixology cocktail party for you and 20 friends” drove audiences to respond to the call to action.

Instead of building the campaign around ConsolÂ’s perhaps more typical image associated with wholesome preserves and food served in glass packaging, human.kind explored a more unexpected avenue and delved into Molecular Mixology and cocktails in glass bottles. Molecular Mixology is the term applied to the process of creating cocktails using the equipment and techniques of molecular gastronomy; this formed the basis of the campaign and allowed the agency to develop funky bar-chic artwork that would appeal to a wider segment of the South African population.

Social media was at the heart of the campaign and it was from this platform that the competition was activated. A TVC that used popular DJ Sizwe Dhlomo as the voice over, drove the campaign idea and directed viewers to the page, as did an extensive Facebook, Twitter and online advertising campaign, utilising diverse and interesting content.

All the cocktail recipes were shot as short clips and posted to Youtube and ConsolÂ’s Facebook page to ensure that they were widely accessible to consumers. Recipes were also uploaded on the page, which saw 'likes' during the campaign increase to over 19 000; a 100 % increase over just a month.

The competition mechanic invited consumers to take a photo of themselves and their friends enjoying their drinks in glass bottles. These images had to be uploaded to Consol’s Facebook page to enter the competition. Votes for the best image counted towards the selection of the 12 winning images, as did meeting the competition criteria laid out on the Facebook Mixology tab. Business unit director at human.kind, Paul Williams explains, “To encourage consumers to choose their drinks in glass, we wanted something with distinctive appeal. It was this that led us to commission the development of a variety of superb alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. With Lavender Blush, Vinfusion, Peppa Juice and Liquid Kryptonite, just some of the Consol cocktails on the menu, these options gave consumers something exciting to try with glass bottles. The campaign was driven by a strong competition element, which encompassed brand activations, digital, television and social media.”

As an additional consumer touch point, Consol partnered with Taste of Christmas to host the inaugural Consol Mixology Theatre. The Taste of Christmas followed on from the success of Taste of Joburg as a premium event targeting over 20 000 discerning customers, at the beginning of December 2012, and was perfectly timed to help maximise direct and hands on consumer exposure to the Mixology campaign. Demonstrations coupled with practical cocktail making sessions showcased the Consol cocktails and highlighted the positive attributes of glass packaging at the same time.

Consol promoters at selected clubs and restaurants in three major centres (Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town) were tasked with encouraging consumers to enjoy their drinks in glass bottles, as well as informing them of the competition. Glamcam partnered with Consol in this environment to snap sassy on site images that could immediately be uploaded to the page.