One of the key target audiences for Smirnoff is the young man about town. This is a man out with his mates for a good time and together they seek out the best bars and clubs to experience the best nights out possible.
Consequently, it was important that this market believed Smirnoff was an integral part of one-of-a-kind nights out. Experiential agency RPM were set the challenge of delivering this brand objective while staying true to Smirnoff's 'Be There' philosophy. This hedonistic crowd, known as 'superficial experimenters' want exciting experiences with their friends that they can share together and with others - this insight informed RPM's strategy.
In the past, Smirnoff has supported a hula hooping and swing event, an avant garde club night at The Hospital Club and a Prism Party revelling in all the colours of the light spectrum. This time Smirnoff took the expression "paint the town" and made it a reality. At Paintfest, eager club-kids donned white boiler suits and goggles and took to the dance floor while 17 paint cannons fired different coloured luminous paint into the crowd. Pumping dubstep and electro music added to the intensity of the experience and Smirnoff prizes were up for grabs, including visors and special UV paint.
As a result of Painfest, over 2,000 students took part in live Paintfest parties across six UK cities, with a 96% of attendees surveyed saying they would come again. Beyond the live events, over 13,000 new Facebook fans were recruited to engage with Smirnoff Paintfest online. Paintfest achieved more competition entries and photo views than any other Smirnoff event and 38m press coverage and 18% national awareness smashed Smirnoff's 17% target.
Smirnoff have signed an exclusive contract with Luminar Nightclubs to continue the success of Paintfest with only Smirnoff at the bar.