• by Larissa Faw , December 23, 2015

Beam Suntory brand Hornitos Tequila has awarded VSA Partners as its advertising and marketing agency of record, following a formal review. VSA will handle TV, print, digital and social media marketing.  

The incumbent was The Community, part of Publicis Groupe’s SapientNitro -- and which was awarded the account in 2013. Earlier it had been handled by Havas. 

"The tequila category has seen exponential growth and is more crowded than ever," says Claire Richards, senior eirector Tequilas at Beam Suntory. "VSA not only gave us a big creative idea, their holistic approach is allowing us to connect with our target audience at various touchpoints — whether it be print, mobile, TV, retail, or on premise. We've very excited for this new partnership." 

VSA currently handles Beam's Two Ginger's business, which had been led by Richards at the client. She then shifted to oversee tequilas at the company.

VSA will focus on reaching Millennials through digital and social media initiatives, although executives decline to specify any creative direction. Hornitos most recent campaign targeted Millennial men with action-packed James Bond-esque ads. 

The first project under this new partnership will debut in early 2016.