Dive Brief:
- Tequila brand Jose Cuervo is hosting a series of livestream events called "Who's Making Margs?," with each episode starring a different celebrity influencer hosting a virtual party from their home, according to details the company shared with Marketing Dive.
- Lil Dicky from the TV series "Dave" will host the first event on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 8:30 pm ET on Jose Cuervo's YouTube channel. The rapper and comedian will make Jose Cuervo peach margaritas and will offer viewers the opportunity to complete challenges and win prizes through the Discord chat app.
- The brand will reveal the hosts for the series every week during its five-week run and share links for the events on Instagram. Each host will share their own margarita recipe, which fans will get to officially name.
Dive Insight:
Jose Cuervo is trying to encourage people to make and try new flavors of margaritas through an influencer marketing series that taps livestreaming, a popular format for brands looking to connect with homebound consumers during the pandemic.
The tequila brand follows other brands into a digital marketing play that leverages entertaining content to reach people indoors this summer. Jose Cuervo kicks up the strategy with multiple interactive engagement opportunities, like completing different challenges, and encouragement to come back week after week to see a new celebrity host.
Jack Daniel's Tennessee Fire also combined entertainment and digital video during Pride Month when it launched a branded web series, "Drag Queen Mukbang." The content tapped into the popularity of drag queen brunches and mukbang videos, which showcase people eating food.
Jose Cuervo is similarly addressing how some consumers like to watch cooking and mixology videos while making cocktails at home. While such content existed before the pandemic, the trend has gotten a boost during lockdowns, as evidenced by big brands like Jose Cuervo jumping on board.
The integration with Discord allows the brand to facilitate community conversations, a move to help make the virtual cocktail hour more like an in-person event. By revealing the host each week on social media, the brand is building an opportunity to boost its followers over several weeks.
