In 2018, writer Ruby Warrington wrote about being “sober curious,” encouraging people to reevaluate their relationship with alcohol. Granted, that was before a global pandemic hit that kept lots of people inside and in need of a vice. But even as we head into the third calendar year of Covid, interest in alcohol-free drinks continues to grow:

• New Morning Consult data shows that 19% of adults plan to participate in Dry January, up from 13% last year. Half plans to abstain completely, while the other half plans to scale back their drinking habits.
• In New York City, stores like Boisson and Spirited Away are dedicated entirely to selling alcohol-free beverages.
• Alcohol-free bars are even popping up in places like Wisconsin, the state that, at least as of 2014, had three bars for every grocery store.

The moderation movement

With Dry January in full swing, brands like Surely, which began selling non-alcoholic wine in 2020, want people to know that sober curiosity is for everyone (even those who don’t want to go completely dry). “It’s all about giving people options,” co-founder Ryan Hanson told Marketing Brew.

Hanson describes Surely as a health and wellness brand, allowing people to cut alcohol the same way they cut carbs or sugar without sacrificing the experience. He also wants to eliminate any weird looks or questions people might get when they choose not to drink, which is why he says it’s important for Surely to have the look and flavor of a traditional glass of wine.

• “Somebody could pour you a bottle of Surely, and unless you asked, you would have no idea if there was alcohol in it,” he said.

Ghia, a non-alcoholic aperitif brand, launched in 2020 with a similar idea: to provide a low-sugar alcohol alternative that people actually wanted to drink—and looked like a real aperitif.

• “As someone who loves to host, I was constantly questioned for not drinking, and I really wanted to change the way we thought about eating and drinking,” founder Mélanie Masarin told us.

By the numbers: According to Masarin, about 80% of Ghia’s customers are people who drink in moderation; similarly, Hanson said approximately 70% of Surely consumers identify as drinkers.

The new, sober normal

Marcos Salazar, CEO of the Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association (ANBA), said the growth of non-alcoholic beverage brands has been “explosive” in the last year. Gone are the days of O’Doul’s or nothing.

The pandemic brought success to a handful of non-alcoholic brands by encouraging them to pursue an online, DTC sales model as people social distanced and shopped online, explained Salazar.

He told us purchasing directly from producers “provides an ease of being able to access these beverages, but also have a relationship with the brand.” Brands like Ghia and Surely sell DTC, but they can also be found in stores and bars.

Last Dry January, Masarin said Ghia saw a 40% increase in customers with a 35% return rate. The brand’s YoY revenue increased 1875% between Q3 2020 and Q3 2021, from $10k to $180k. Surely told us it made $3m+ in year one, after launching in November 2020.

Click here to read the full story.—KH

Heineken is kicking off the new year with a social campaign inspired by a Hawaiian artist’s work.

As part of its broader Dry January campaign (more on that in a future newsletter), the beer brand traveled to “one of the wettest places on Earth” to reinforce the idea that a month of no alcohol doesn’t have to be dry…while promoting its non-alcoholic beer, obviously.

• Heineken partnered with artist and Hawaii native Aaron Kai on some “Hawaii Dry-O” merch kits that dropped this month (and are already sold out)—a few of which came with a trip to Hawaii for two (you can also enter to win the trip online).
• Kai also added his illustrations to a social spot, which advertises the giveaway organically on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (plus some paid support on this tweet and influencer content on Instagram).

Why Kai? “This guy’s the antithesis of dull and dry,” Heineken’s US brand director Josh Egan told Marketing Brew, explaining that the Kai’s artistic work frequently includes lots of bright blues and natural water features, such as waterfalls and waves. His signature illustrated wave, of course, was incorporated into the campaign.

The cherry on top: When scrolling through Kai’s Instagram, the team stumbled upon a post that made the potential collaboration feel especially authentic. “One of his posts we saw was him on a skateboard drinking a Heineken, and so it just felt like one of those matches that was meant to be,” Eric Husband, creative director at agency Fast Horse (which worked with the Heineken team on the project), told us.—PB

If you thought you’d be leaving all things metaverse in 2021, think again.

Because a lot of people didn’t really want to go to CES this year, creative agency Wunderman Thompson held its conference activation virtually—in a “bespoke” metaverse-like environment the agency says it can also create for clients.

What’s it look like? Imagine the mechanics of Grand Theft Auto but, like, at a conference. It isn’t a far cry from Facebook’s own meta-meeting space, but you don’t need a VR headset, as the platform works on desktop.

• The environment was created in partnership with metaverse platform company Odyssey and was planned before omicron scuttled CES for many.

Though still in beta, Emily Safian-Demers, an editor at Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, the company’s “futurist” think tank, told Marketing Brew the tech could be used for the agency’s own internal events, like leadership summits, and be pitched to brands.

“We anticipate clients will be asking for [this] a lot more. Right now, a lot of activations are happening in gaming environments—Roblox, Fortnite. To have a dedicated space for elevated virtual experience, we think is going to be a big ask over the next few years,” said Safian-Demers.

As of Friday afternoon, over 1,000 visitors had toured the space, filled with informational kiosks about the metaverse, a retail room where users could fit avatars in new digs, and a game room to catch virtual butterflies, an opportunity to show off what the agency calls “gamevertising.”

For what it’s worth: Halfway through touring the space, my avatar bumped into another visitor, the CEO of a Spanish artificial intelligence company. Within a minute of introducing myself, he DM’d me his LinkedIn profile.—RB

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

LinkedInfluencers: As cringey as the term “thought leader” is, here’s how one woman became one on LinkedIn—and what it did for her business.

Sosh meeds: Oh, you think Gen Z “isn’t on Twitter” because they’re too busy with “short-form video” and…Olivia Rodrigo? Okay, clearly we aren’t 100% sure what your assumptions about Gen Z are, but we can help you reach them on Twitter, if you want to.

ICYMI: Speaking of Twitter, check out the accounts Marketing Brew reporters loved following on the platform in 2021.

Looking for more? Check out Marketing Brew’s latest article: “What’s it like creating a Super Bowl ad?” sponsored by Impact.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Breaking: Elvis is alive, at least according to this 1991 fishing-lure ad.

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