Lore

These Pacificos are Makin’ Me Thirsty!

As a digital marketer, I’m always keeping an eye out for well done digital branding campaigns. You don’t open up your browser and go searching for one. You might as well walk into the woods and try to find Bigfoot. It’s going to end in disappointment. Well, once in a while, you get lucky and the beast finds you.

I was about to do my daily surf check on Surfline.com when my curiosity was piqued by a random Pacifico bottle cap on the right side of the screen. It said “click to flip.” It seemed pretty mundane, so I clicked the cap (half expecting it to annoy me and take me straightaway to a website).

Pacifico branding campaign
Pacifico cap

The cap flipped and on the underside of the cap were coordinates with the line “Discover this Spot.” What? I was completely intrigued. The copy was perfect for a surfer. We love discovering new surf spots. The GPS coordinates made it seem even more secretive. I wanted in.

Pacifico Branding Campaign
Pacifico cap flipped

I clicked to “discover” and was taken a Pacifico branded page. You had to enter in the cap coordinates to see the spot. I did so and was whisked away to a beautiful little surf spot in Baja, complete with a nice, brief video. No Pacifico story, just their cap as branding.

Pacifico Branding Campaign
Pacifico Secret Spot

I wanted to see more locations. I checked out a few spots they had picked out along the Pacific coast, each with varying adventurous subject matter, such as backpacking or diving. Along the way, I even became a bit curious about their story. I watched a really nice video on the brand and noticed in the nav that they were giving away a few prizes if you gave an email address… which I did.

Pacifico Story
Pacifico Story
Pacifico Giveaway
Pacifico Giveaway

Do you see what happened there? Pacifico just jedi mind-tricked me into giving up personal info, happily, and watching a video on their brand. They didn’t lead with a giveaway in the ad. It wasn’t even on the 2nd interaction. It was tertiary. They put up a gate and made me work for it. The rewarded me for my participation along the way with great content at every turn.

Most importantly, Pacifico connected with me. Now, I want to surf. I want to go on an adventure. I want a Pacifico… and it’s 10am!  This is what great branding is about. It’s not about what you make, it’s what you’re made of.