• by Larissa Faw , December 8, 2016

Here’s a new twist on personalization in marketing.

As part of a new campaign, Reyka Vodka staged a Facebook Live event earlier this week to wish 4,512 Icelanders—each by name—a happy holiday season.

The event was orchestrated by Reyka ad shop Red Tettemer O’Connell + Partners.

In effect, the brand wished every Icelander (all 320,000 of them) a personalized holiday wish because there are only 4,512 unique names among the citizenry. 

Reyka Vodka is attempting to demonstrate the authenticity of the Icelandic vodka brand by wishing a happy holiday to all Icelandic people—and 4,512 of them specifically in a new campaign. 

The small batch brand hosted a special holiday-themed Facebook Live event on December 6 featuring Fridrik, a proud native Icelander and quirky character with unusual facial hair who has become the unofficial spokesman for the Reyka brand. 

The goal of the effort is to raise awareness in both Iceland and the U.S. in the competitive vodka category.  

During the two-hour event, Fridrik wished 4,512 Icelanders a happy holiday season. Each was selected through their listing in The Icelandic Naming Committee. These names actually represent the entire nation.

The campaign ran tune-in messaging leading up to and during the live stream, then promoted the video afterwards to generate mass engagement. To date, the video has received over 100,000 views. And it’s attracted thousands of real-time reactions from people around the world (and hundreds of positive comments). 

Fridrik has become a key ambassador to the brand. Reyka and RTO+P first found him through the small world of Icelandic fans of the brand, they say. This summer, they partnered with him for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament.