The Brief

Each Valentine’s Day we’re tasked with leveraging the mysterious, bold and disruptive brand personality of The Kraken to position it as the more interesting choice to celebrate on February 14th. We’re challenged to come up with an integrated campaign idea that generates cut through across earned media and social.

The Big Idea

Valentine’s Day brings with it many first dates. And any seasoned dater will know that first dates can be a catastrophe. So this Valentine’s Day The Kraken Rum invited people to cast aside politeness and choose to gleefully – and noisily – throw in the towel with its unique ‘Date Escape’ service. Individuals looking for a swift exit mid-date simply needed to send an SOS message to ‘The Date Escape’ and within mere minutes, a striking Kraken rider roared to the rescue, providing the ultimate statement exit. The Kraken riders transported all date escapers to The Bike Shed bar to enjoy free Kraken Rum cocktails for the rest of the night.

The Results

The Date Escape reached over two million people across social and engagement figures hit 7.5%. On the earned media front, we achieved over 35 pieces of coverage, including five nationals in the likes of Metro, Star, Mirror and the Independent. Across earned coverage, there were over 86 campaign assets used and over 200 brand mentions.