Brief:

• Babe Wine, the brand of sparkling canned wine owned by AB InBev, is working with women-first dating app Bumble on a social media campaign to cover the moving costs of people who are stuck living with an ex during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an announcement shared exclusively with Mobile Marketer.
• To win a chance to have their moving costs covered by Babe and Bumble, users of photo-sharing app Instagram can tag themselves on the "moving on" post on Babe's @drinkbabe account. The brand will choose five winners from the comments who appear to be "turning their breakup into a glow up," per the announcement.
• Babe and Bumble created a flyer showing a mock moving company named "B&B Movers" that touts its services, including moving furniture, removing all traces from an ex from a smartphone and tailoring a Bumble profile to get back into the dating scene. The promotion starts today and runs through Aug. 6.

Insight:

Babe Wine and Bumble's campaign that offers free moving services to people who have broken up mid-pandemic has the power to go viral on social media. The contest is likely to receive online attention that will help to drive traffic to Babe Wine's account on Instagram, which only has about 175,000 followers. As Instagram users tag themselves on Babe's "moving on" post, the brand can extend the campaign's reach among people who share their contest entries with friends and followers.

The stunt is most likely to reach the 75% of U.S. consumers ages 18 to 24 and the 57% of people ages 25 to 29 who use Instagram, as measured by Pew Research Center. Those consumers helped to drive a 79% surge in off-premise sales of canned wine to $163 million for the 12-month period ended in June, per Nielsen data cited by Forbes. The growth in canned wine indicates how younger consumers are seeking convenience and value consistent with their easy-drinking style, Wine Spectator reported.

Bumble, which last month announced it had reached 100 million users worldwide, has seen increased activity during the coronavirus pandemic, including a 26% rise in messages sent through its app, CNBC reported. The company lifted app installs by five times and cut cost-per-registration 64% after running direct response ads on TikTok from March to May, according to a case study by the social video app. Bumble's recent campaigns to amplify brand awareness also have included a collaboration with AT&T's WarnerMedia for the launch of streaming service HBO Max in May. The same month, Bumble worked with Airbnb on a series of virtual first dates for people to share while stuck at home.

For its part, Babe Wine became the first official wine sponsor of the NFL last fall as part of a push by its parent company to capture younger drinkers who are drinking less of its legacy beer brands. The campaign with Bumble is another chance to reach these young drinkers.