Let’s get phygital – Absolut goes to Coachella. Again!

Absolut Vodka goes again to Coachella – this time also on the metaverse!

During a time when AI and ChatGPT put some serious concerns in the minds of people about metaverse – is it dead? Is it dying? Is this the end of metaverse? – Absolut Vodka returns to it for the second time!

Last year at Coachella, Absolut Vodka stepped into the metaverse making waves – and this year the brand is back with what it says is its most inclusive Absolut.Land experience. The campaign "Born to Mix – World of Absolut Cocktails" calls out to its users to be their most authentic selves.

This year, the metaverse activation will feature everything from cocktail-themed NFT wearables that will personify all the various characters of Lemonade, Espresso Martini, Cosmo, Bloody Mary and Madras, along with the new PRIDE Collection, to the highly interactive "Wild Berri Dance Battle" celebrating Absolut's latest flavor innovation.

All this, against the backdrop of music from the DJ Two Friends jukebox! This fabulous digital mixing ground has vending machines where you can order cocktails that will be delivered right to your doorstep.

Absolut Vodka’s reviving of the Decentraland activation comes with a new strategy – that has a focus on in-person connections. They have partnered with Hey! VINA, which is also known as the Tinder for (girl) friendships, with an aim to have festival goers meet their new best friend (or festie bestie!)!

There is a quiz that helps customers to match with like-minded festival friends, and gives them a chance to win tickets for the next weekend.

Real life best friends Rachel Recchia and Genevieve Parisi will be there at the festival for audiences to meet. Customers can have a limited-edition specialty cocktail kit showcasing Absolut's fun and elevated festival Lemonade serve, delivered at home. For every purchase of a kit, a second one will be sent to a friend of your choice. It even comes with custom friendship bracelets from the Little Words Project.

At Coachella, fans can taste Absolut Wild Berri for the first-time (and way before anyone else can) – it has the flavor of freshly picked blueberries, blackberries and wild strawberries. Wild Berri will hit stores only in May!

Let’s get Phygital!

That’s the way forward - a healthy mix of digital and the physical.

Brands across the world are all adjusting their strategies to include this – some physical and some digital. The key is to make it all one seamless – the bump-less transition from one space to another.

Brands that create effective and engaging customer experiences across both worlds are the ones that will go far.

To craft an effective phygital strategy, brands must first iron out all the kinks in the experiences that they offer their customers. Find the bumps. What are the highlights? Track them all and build on that foundation. Remember that the goal is to build really immersive experiences for your customers.

Go physical where you need to and digital where you must. But make it all so inter-twined and connected seamlessly that customers can pick up where they left off in the other realm.

By keeping the customer and their journey right in the middle of your strategy, you will be able to create a phygital experience that not only meets, but exceeds, customer expectations.