Bates CHI&Partners Singapore disrupts convention for Martell VSOP to attract younger, hipper clubbers with the Club Neon platform

Bates CHI&Partners Singapore has launched Club Neon, a radical clubbing platform that turns convention on its head.

Instead of allowing Martell’s perceived association with traditional night entertainment establishments in Singapore to stand in the way of its pursuit of the younger audience set, the agency took the step to embrace the brand’s heritage by creating a clubbing platform that reinterprets nightclubs into unexpected, elevated experiences.

Over 300 invited guests turned up at the first instalment of Club Neon, at an unnamed KTV bar in Geylang.

Taking a strong design cue from the neon elements on the La French Touch bottle (designed by French DJ Étienne de Crécy), all three floors of the bar’s KTV rooms were brought to life by the installation of 12 interactive and voyeuristic experiences.

Featuring Mafioso bartenders, hostesses who engaged party-goers in traditional bar games, hip hop dancers, and a slow-shutter photography space, the grit of Singapore’s nightclub scene was celebrated and redefined. Guests were invited to explore and immerse in the multi-sensorial themed rooms for an elevated night out.

Hip-hop artist Shigga Shay took centre stage on a platform which normally sees singers belting out Chinese and Hokkien hits, and patrons got temporarily ‘inked’ at a ‘tattoo parlour’ with designs created by designer and illustrator, Tiffany Lovage, for the event.

Gaurav Sabharwal, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Singapore said, “We loved the ambitious and forward-thinking nature of the Club Neon concept, as it is in alignment with Martell’s brand purpose of elevating experiences, occasions and cultures around the world.  It is a brilliant win-win way of reaching out to younger consumers without compromising our allure in traditional night entertainment establishments. And the new La French Touch bottle plays a key role in this effort to transform the associations with these establishments into experiences that are raw, and at the same time, chic.”

Christina Chong, Managing Director of Bates CHI&Partners Singapore said, “We confronted the perceived problem of the brand head-on and turned its biggest obstacle into an opportunity.  As a platform, Club Neon will redefine how Martell resonates with an audience who were not pre-disposed to the brand.”

The campaign is solely supported on social media via Facebook and instagram via @club.neon and #clubneonsg. Post launch, the Club Neon platform will be brought to life in other unconventional spaces and experiences.