Dive Brief:

• Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer has launched a campaign to promote its seven Spiked Seltzer flavors, according to a press release. The seltzer flavors — Black Cherry Rosemary, Grapefruit, Pear Elderflower, Cranberry, Clementine Hibiscus, Lemon Lime and Prickly Pear — are intended to counter the "basic" vodka soda.
• The campaign, developed with media company Betches Media, includes an Instagram video titled "When you realize you're basic." The AB InBev brand also unveiled a playful guide about "living better basic" that includes such tips as "listening to pop music but on vinyl" and "ditching boring vodka soda for a Bon & Viv."
• A contest with a $30,000 prize is also part of the effort. Running from June 24 through July 7, the competition requires entrants to follow the brand on social media, tag #BONandVIV and #contest, and submit descriptions or photos about how to "ban basic" this summer.

Dive Insight:

With this campaign for Bon & Viv, AB InBev is looking to reach consumers that have shifted away from its legacy beer brands: millennial women. Teaming with Betches Media, a media company spawned from a viral website aimed at the cohort, Bon & Viv can speak more authentically to its target consumers with a snarky video and "guide" that is in line with the site's tone. This could help Bon & Viv convert some millennial women from "basic" vodka soda drinkers to "better basic" spiked seltzer drinkers by toying with the idea of "basic" culture.

In addition, the social media contest could help the brand gain earned media as people share their ideas about how to "ban basic" this summer, tagging the brand and their friends. Busch, JetBlue, Saucony and T.J. Maxx this year also have run contests on social platforms such as Twitter and Instagram to increase engagement with their brands.

Growing its spiked seltzer brand will be key for Bon & Viv parent company AB InBev as it looks to expand beyond its traditional beer market, since beer sales continue to slide. While boosting the identity of well-known brands like Budweiser by connecting them to culturally-shared experiences like Memorial Day could help stop the slide, AB InBev will also need to market new products to consumers that are increasingly choosing wine, liquor and "ready to drink" (RTD) products like Bon & Viv. Sales of RTD spirits-based cocktails are expected to rise by 9% in volume by 2021, according to a Mintel report.

The "better basic" campaign is AB InBev's second major push for Bon & Viv. The brand ran a 30-second Super Bowl ad that featured two mermaids named Bonnie and Vivian, who were pitching their new idea for spiked seltzer to literal "shark" investors. It was created by agency Bullish with director of photography Dan Laustsen, best known for his work in the award-winning film "The Shape of Water."