Hodori Soju

Step 1: Drink All Night!

We would collaborate with a variety of Asian American creators having fun with friends in a variety of settings — going to concerts, restaurants, doing challenges, etc. See some examples on the right of what videos creators have made with soju in the past!

In the videos, creators would highlight how Hodori soju is relatively light and lower in ABV, allowing people to drink and enjoy themselves for hours without a strong taste or losing control.

Execution Strategy

For this campaign, we would partner with East Asian creators based in U.S. hubs with large East Asian communities, such as California and New York City. The project brief would encourage influencers to produce lighthearted and fun content. Since Hodori is positioned as an accessible, casual beverage rather than a luxury product, the content would emphasize social moments—friends enjoying bottles together at restaurants, parties, or late-night hangouts—celebrating the brand as a go-to drink for laid-back, joyful occasions. Additionally, its low alcohol content would be highlighted as a feature that allows consumers to drink glass after glass while they enjoy their time with others.

Why it works?

Our approach is rooted in both cultural understanding and data-driven insight. Young East Asians are among the most enthusiastic consumers of Soju globally — a trend that extends to diaspora communities in the U.S., particularly in states like California and New York. While U.S. Soju consumption isn’t officially tracked by ethnicity, we do know that Soju is most popular with young adults, and that East Asian countries like Korea, Japan, and China are generally the top consumers of the beverage worldwide. We also know that Soju consumption in the US is linked to popularity of other Korean cultural products, and that American consumers of K-Dramas are 29% Asian, despite making up 7% of the general population. Given that this is our audience, we target them accordingly with culturally relevant creators in specific geographic locations.

With established brands like Jinro and Good Day already dominating awareness, promoting Hodori requires a distinguishing factor, and seemingly organic endorsement. Unlike many other hard beverages, market reports actually claim that Soju's low alcohol content is perceived as a benefit to its consumers, so highlighting this aspect of Hodori's products helps distinguish it from competitors in a way that resonates with audience prefrences. Finally, the campaign’s creative brief intentionally leaves room for interpretation, encouraging influencers to produce a diverse mix of content. This helps the campaign feel spontaneous and organic, helping Hodori stand out through authentic, community-driven storytelling rather than coordinated advertising.

Step 2: Rave Drink!

After positioning the drink as a low alcohol Soju for laid back occasions, it’s time to turn up the energy and reach the party crowd! In this stage, we do a more customized campaign with creators immersed in rave and electronic music culture, encouraging them to showcase the beverage as a light, refreshing option that helps festival-goers pace themselves on the dancefloor. By aligning the brand with vibrant nightlife settings we expand its appeal from casual social drinkers to the high-energy night life scene, without losing its approachable, easy-drinking identity.

Execution Strategy

We target creators in the same set of regions as the last stage, but zero in on creators who make rave, EDM, and festival content. Content themes could include pre-festival tip videos, rave kit recommendations, highlights of people drinking it at the rave (with an explanation of why), or “hydration and balance” reels emphasizing fun without overindulgence.

Why it works?

Once again, cultural understanding and academic research both affirm that electronic music festivals and raves are immensely popular with Asian Americans. By targeting creators within this space, Hodori connects with one of its key customer bases in another context. This strategy also reinforces the product's distinguishing factor once again, creatively demonstrating its versatility as a drink suited for both calm and chaotic celebrations; perfect for an alcohol.

Establishing context first is crucial to maintain the organic feeling of the campaign overall. Aggressively targeting the rave community immediately could feel forced or overly promotional for a relatively unknown brand with little said about it on social media. If the product is already perceived as a low-alcohol alternative in the audience's mind, it makes the recommendation of using the drink to pace oneself seem logical. By targeting the same regions and demographic, we increase our chances that viewers will have heard of the brand already as well.

Step 3: Hit the Ground

After successfully establishing Hodori as an ideal rave and music festival drink, we sponsor similar events to give the audience an on ground experience with the brand!

Execution Strategy

We would track the viewing data from the digital campaign to determine which regions were the most receptive to the social media assets. Once determined, we would find Electronic music festivals happening in those areas and reach out to them for sponsorship opportunities. Additionally, we would reach out to local influencers in the area, offering free admission if they post about the event inn some fashion.

Why it works?

Many have commented in the past about how experiential marketing can be more powerful than digital marketing due to its ability to make a memorable and personal connection with the consumer. By sponsoring live events, we have an opportunity to have a larger impact on our audience, making the brand more notable in their mind. We also maximize the promotional reach of the sponsorship by getting local influencers to attend and create digital content.