The Topo Chico brand was built in the field, case-by-case. To achieve their cult status in their initial US markets, they focused on local activations that put them at the intersection of their partners (restaurants, retail, bars and grocery) and their audience (end consumer).
During our first meeting with Topo Chico their brief to us was simple: “Don’t fuck it up.” We nodded and said we were familiar with the concept of not fucking things up, but asked them to expand a bit.
They clarified by saying, “How do we scale our massively beloved cult brand with a creative platform that maintains our authenticity, honors our partners, and paves the way for expansion into new markets and audiences?”
Jonathan Gold (R.I.P. to the goat) was our muse for this campaign.
He used this creative food criticism to turn people onto an entire world of cuisine that had been ignored for far too long.
We invoked the spirit of Jonathan Gold, and used Topo Chico’s Instagram as a stage to celebrate and put on overlooked restaurants and chefs and give them the shine they so richly deserve.
We identified and partnered with seven under-the-radar restaurants in seven key markets and gifted them a slew of social assets to help promote themselves. We then commissioned the artist SADDO to create bespoke portraits of each of the restaurant’s chefs, each painting honoring the culinary heritage of these local legends. The artwork was used to make limited edition Topo Chico bottles and limited-edition merch that we gave to each restaurant to sell and get the word out. Topo Chico then used their own social channels and OOH media placements to promote these under-the-radar joints and their signature dishes with QR codes that allowed food lovers to order from them directly.
This campaign wasn’t about Topo Chico. It was about putting their friends on.
Here’s what a few of them had to say:
"We’ve definitely seen an uptick in business since the promotion. Many people mentioned the installment that was done on the corner of Olive and 9th street and all of the social media." Robert Villanueva, Co-Owner of Petite Peso
Melissa Stefanini, Founder & Chef of Buenas in Boston, MA, is opening a new concept and location for Buenas called SuperBien thanks to the growth since the Friends of Topo campaign.
