Social Transformation: Diageo Culture & Entertainment, Captain Morgan and Gordon's
1000heads built Diageo's social transformation roadmap and measurement programme across brands including Captain Morgan, whose responsible drinking campaign reached around 17 million people.
Case in 60 seconds
Diageo's Culture & Entertainment team needed social first principles applied across Smirnoff, Tanqueray, Gordon's, Captain Morgan and Baileys in its main European markets, while Gordon's specifically was trailing in an increasingly dynamic gin category when work began in 2016.
The Captain Morgan work appears to turn on the reading that responsible drinking lands only when it arrives inside a genre the audience already chooses, because data showed the target audience's interest in Grime and a brand voice alone could not carry that authenticity.
Rebuild each brand's social presence around a continuous creative voice punctuated by conversational campaigns co-created with relevant influencers and designed to be participative, with measurement built to stand alongside Diageo's econometric and ROI work.
1000heads collaborated with rapper Lady Leshurr on a Grime track and music video released through her own social channels, supported by Spotify and Facebook advertising, a responsible drinking website and an exclusive gig, while Gordon's ran on the Ginspired Moments Barometer and a redefined social look and feel using native platform formats.
1000heads reports the Captain Morgan campaign reached approximately 17 million people across social, press and Spotify advertising, generating 45,000 likes, comments and shares and 50,000 campaign site visits, with positive ROI measured through Diageo's econometric modelling.
Strategy Breakdown
The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.
Creative & Execution System
Assets & channels
- Spotify
- advertising
- live event
- music video
- social content
- website
Partners
- 1000heads (lead_agency)
Participation mechanic
- The page describes the conversational campaigns as co-created with influencers and designed to be participative, and the Captain Morgan work drew 45,000 likes, comments and shares alongside an exclusive gig.
Creator role
- Lady Leshurr — creator
Results & Evidence
| Metric | Value | Result type |
|---|---|---|
| campaign site visits | ainsi que 50 000 visites sur le site de la campagne | traffic |
| global brand conversation change year on year | En 2019, la conversation mondiale autour de Gordon diminuait d'une année à l'autre (-54%) malgré une croissance de discussions autour du gin (+35%) | performance |
| likes, comments and shares | générant 45 000 likes, commentaires et partages | performance |
| markets running the social strategy | Cette stratégie sociale en constante évolution a maintenant été déployée dans 25 marchés en Europe, Amérique latine, Australie et Afrique | performance |
| people reached across social, press and Spotify advertising | La campagne a atteint environ 17 millions de personnes sur les réseaux sociaux, dans la presse et via les publicités Spotify | reach |
| share of gin market growth | En 2019, ce marché a augmenté de 1,4 milliard de dollars, et Gordon représentait 30% de cette croissance, soit plus que toute autre marque. | business |
| unprompted brand mentions growth versus category | les mentions spontanées de Gordon augmentent maintenant plus rapidement que l'industrie du gin à l'échelle mondiale (198% contre 98%) | performance |
Why 1000heads's strategy worked
- 1
A modération message carries further through a creator the audience already listens to, because the page attributes the campaign's authenticity to something the brand states it could not have achieved alone.
- 2
Audience data about genre preference appears usable as a casting brief rather than only as a targeting input, since interest in Grime is what selected the collaborator rather than reach figures.
- 3
Building the measurement programme with the client team rather than reporting into it seems to be what let earned media results sit inside Diageo's econometric and ROI models rather than beside them.
- 4
A named repeatable device for choosing cultural moments, in this case the Ginspired Moments Barometer, appears to be what let hundreds of pieces of content scale to 25 markets without the strategy fragmenting.