• by Erik Oster , December 24, 2023

Sparkling hop water brand Hop Wtr partnered with influencer Omer Majid -- known for his impromptu man-on-the-street style videos -- on a holiday campaign asking a question you probably didn’t expect to hear: Is Santa sober?

Majid tackles the question in a video that sees him confronting mall Santas, giving them a surprise breathalyzer test, and offering them a pack of Hop Wtr. In addition to the video on Majid’s channels, the campaign campaign also included paid and organic social components. It follows Hop Wtr’s “Hopnotist” initiative in partnership with professional hypnotist Amy Koford, as the brand goes big on sobriety messaging ahead of Dry January.

Marketing Daily reached out to Hop Wtr founder and CEO Jordan Bass with a series of questions about the “Sbr Snta” campaign, and the brand’s approach to marketing ahead of the new year.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Marketing Daily: What made Omer Majid the right partner for the campaign?

Jordan Bass: Omer is best-known for his ‘man-on-the-street’ impromptu videos and when we found out he would be in L.A. for the holiday season, we knew he’d be a great partner for this campaign since his typical content is spontaneous and light-hearted and we needed someone that could think on the spot. The content could’ve gone in various directions depending on the response from the Santas and mall security. Omer was able to bring the vision of "Sbr Snta" to life in a festive and humorous way.

Marketing Daily:  What went into the campaign's creative and media strategy?

Bass: We really wanted the "Sbr Snta" campaign to hinge on the holiday season with a video campaign that was fun, festive and got a laugh from consumers. We know the holiday season is a popular time for parties and drinking, and we wanted to show that non-alc can be a part of the conversation and occasion as well.

"Sbr Snta" was a light-hearted social video that we wanted to share with our followers to keep Hop Wtr on their mind during the season and stand out from the traditional holiday-focused brand content popping up on their feeds. For Dry January, specifically, we launched our HoPnotist campaign, where we’re hypnotizing consumers into sticking to their Dry January goals.

Marketing Daily:  How does this campaign mark a continuation or evolution from previous marketing?

Bass: We’re always looking to break the mold with our marketing campaigns by catching the eye of new consumers, while also keeping existing consumers intrigued. Hop Wtr is all about the carefree, adventurous lifestyle and we like to focus on those elements in our marketing campaigns as well. Last year, we shook things up with our “Hop Lockr” campaign for Dry January, where we sent consumers an actual locker so they could keep their booze under lock and key all month long, and then we sent them the code to unlock their bottles on Feb. 1.

This year, we wanted to get in on the holiday conversation with the launch of "Sbr Snta" and we also announced our second Dry January campaign, “HoPnotist,” which has received over 2,000 entrants in only 9 days, outperforming any of our previous campaigns.