Frucor Suntory makes it happen for V Energy on TikTok in new work via Clemenger BBDO Sydney

Following the successful launch of V Energy’s MAKE IT HAPPEN brand platform, Frucor Suntory wanted activity that built upon brand awareness and engagement with Gen Z. Given that V Energy is a transformational brand, with a long history of being part of culture, Clemenger BBDO Sydney turned to another Gen Z cultural favourite – TikTok.

The #VMakeItHappen campaign challenged people to get creative in showing how they make things happen in their daily lives – from the big, to the small, the funny and the downright ludicrous – all set to the low key beats of Anything U Want by Indigenous Aussie artist HVWKS.

To kick things off, V and Clemenger BBDO worked with some of Australia’s most popular and engaging TikTok creators to co-create authentic, entertaining and at times odd content. Each piece brought to life MAKE IT HAPPEN in a way that was authentic to their audience. And then we handed over the keys of the challenge to the TikTok community.

The result was more than 21 million hashtag views and a flurry of user generated content. The TikTok creator activity was staggered throughout the campaign to maintain momentum, with a second burst driving a new wave of UGC submissions three weeks post-launch.

The six-week campaign delivered 21 million views on the hashtag #VMakeItHappen, 81% ad recall lift and a 3% lift in attitude towards V Energy as a cool brand. More than 653,000 video views were generated from videos created using both the official music and official hashtag – a view per video generated result TikTok called remarkable compared to results from other challenges.

TikTok herald #VMakeItHappen as the standard by which they now hold creator partnerships for TikTok Branded Hashtag Challenges. Following the success of the campaign V and Clemenger BBDO Sydney have subsequently launched the next iteration of MAKE IT HAPPEN on TikTok.

Says Darren Wright, ECD, Clemenger BBDO Sydney: “When you launch a big brand platform like MAKE IT HAPPEN you always aspire to get into popular culture. To not just get people talking about the campaign but interacting and playing with it as well. And that’s what’s so great when you partner with TikTok. The campaign goes to a whole new level of participation where people are creating their own content, starting trends and most importantly having fun with the brand.”

Says Chris Henbrey, senior brand manager on V at Frucor Suntory: “It’s always nerve-racking handing over the reigns of the brand to creators but we loved the result. Rather than ‘pushing advertising’ the audience were much more engaged, bringing our idea to life in a way that mattered to them.”

Says Brett Armstrong, general manager, global business solutions for TikTok Australia: “We’ve loved seeing the #VMakeItHappen campaign come to life because it’s so in tune with the TikTok community’s creativity and sense of fun. Led by awesome Aussie TikTok creators, it opened the door for consumers to put their own spin on what the V Energy brand means to them. This is what TikTok campaigns are all about — inviting creation and participation; starting trends and becoming part of the culture.”

Below are some of the challenge videos on TikTok, from the creators.

Client: V, Frucor Suntory
Head of Marketing – Energy: Jonny Croft
Senior Brand Manager: Chris Henbrey
Senior Media and Content Manager: Ryan Smith
Assistant Media and Content Manager: Kaan Kocabay

Agency: Clemenger BBDO Sydney
Executive Creative Directors: Brendan Willenberg & Darren Wright
Creative: Josh Aitken
Design: Alex Kidd, Greg Lamb
Producer: Jo Howlett
Client Service: Rachel Robinson, Su-Ann Leong, Elisha Akhtar

Media Partner: TikTok

Media Agency: OMD