Drinks · Opportunity
Luc Belaire: The New Tradition. Claim your table.
Pernod Ricard asked agencies to make Luc Belaire the go-to premium alternative to champagne for young adults. Our answer: a platform for success that is earned, not inherited, carried by club takeovers, a rewards app and one live view of every venue and shelf.
Pitch finalistHello Brand was a finalist in Pernod Ricard's agency selection for this brief. The work has not run.
- Creative platform
- Club takeovers
- Rewards app
- Creators and influencers
- Premium retail
- Client
- Pernod Ricard
- Sector
- Drinks
- Brief
- FY27 creative agency brief
- Engagement
- Opportunity


A pitch: Hello Brand reached the final round of the agency selection. No campaign has run, so there are no results.
Not for persons under the age of 18. Enjoy responsibly.
Chapter 1 of 9
The brief
Elevate Luc Belaire as the go-to premium champagne alternative for young adults, by building awareness, trial and visibility in top nightclubs, and so grow market share and cultural relevance.
The business ambition behind it: grow into the leading sparkling wine in Africa by challenging the traditional champagne status quo. Two marketing objectives carry it: build advocacy and desirability with lifestyle influencers, and give the brand distinctive visibility, experiences and presence in the leading nightclubs.
The challenge, in the brief's own question: how can Luc Belaire build champagne-level credibility while creating a culturally relevant connection that gives Gen Z a compelling reason to choose it?
The brief, distilled
- Get
- Young, culturally savvy champagne drinkers (Gen Z)
- To
- Choose Luc Belaire in moments where they want to make a statement
- Instead of
- Established competitor brands that are the safe choice
- By
- Establishing Luc Belaire as a modern champagne status symbol for flex and impress moments
- Because
- A unique range that breaks boundaries, with French heritage
The brand

Self-made tastes better.
The brand's purpose, and its big idea: The New Tradition. Luc Belaire is a French sparkling wine house founded in 1898, with a range built to break the codes of traditional champagne. Its Fantôme range carries glow-in-the-dark labels, designed to stand out in a nightclub.
Single-minded message: choosing Belaire makes a statement about who you are. It is not the safe choice; it is for those who know.
- Build awareness of Belaire as a modern luxury alternative to champagne
- Drive trial, in the club and in premium retail
- Own visibility in the leading nightclubs
- Build advocacy with lifestyle influencers
Chapter 2 of 9
Who it is for
Young, culturally savvy Millennial and Gen Z drinkers: pop-culture aware, trend-led and looking for new experiences.
Insight
Gen Z choose brands that reflect their values. Authentic, culturally relevant brands with a purpose matter as much as what is in the bottle.
How they drink
More Gen Z are drinking, but with intent: they value craft, storytelling and provenance, and expect a brand to stand for something beyond the bottle.
The moment: turnt up
Lifting the mood with friends in a high-energy setting: a club, a bar or an event, late in the evening, partly planned. The need is to impress.
What it is up against: established competitor brands that feel like the safe choice in moments made to flex or impress.
Our read: the optimistic achiever
Urban, fashion-forward and digitally native, aged 19 to 35 and female-skewed. They seek recognition, access and status, and to them celebration is not an event but a state of mind. They don't wait for occasions; they create them.
But the category has grown noisy, with celebrity endorsements, price promotions and visual clutter in clubs and stores. Being seen no longer guarantees being chosen. What is missing is meaning at the moment of celebration: a reason to choose Luc Belaire in real time, when the bottle is ordered, shared and displayed.
The mindset
“I decide when something matters.”
The cultural starters
Early-career professionals, students moving into work, creatives. “I'm not there yet, but I'm on my way.”
Champagne feels special but not yet meant for them. Luc Belaire is their first step into champagne culture: join the ritual without the pressure, and order bubbles in public with confidence.
The aspirational progressors
Young professionals, entrepreneurs, side-hustlers. “Every move forward counts.”
They understand the codes of champagne but often feel they overpay for a name. Luc Belaire becomes their go-to celebration bottle: the look and language of champagne, with control over the spend.
The hosts
Founders, senior creatives, promoters, tastemakers. “Success is shared.”
Not always the richest, but the most influential: they curate the room. Traditional champagne feels rigid to them. Luc Belaire becomes their hosting badge, setting the tone without flexing excess.
Chapter 3 of 9
The idea: a table earned, not inherited
The champagne category runs on heritage, lineage and old-money cues. Luc Belaire competes on culture, visibility and earned celebration. Our plan: reposition it as the sparkling wine of earned success, not inherited status, and make it the symbol for those building their own table.

The New Tradition: Claim Your Table.
Not champagne's tradition: our generation's tradition. A seat at the table has always meant permission: you're invited, you're accepted, you belong. It can also mean rejection: no chair for you, wait your turn. The campaign celebrates a new truth: when you build the table, you decide who sits. Luc Belaire moves the conversation from “May I sit?” to “Pull up, we built this.”
Behind it: a culture-to-commerce system. Cultural relevance leads to a confident choice, a rewarded choice to a repeat purchase, and repeat purchase to advocacy: one table, one venue, one celebration at a time.
- Turn celebration into proof of progress
- Own high-energy nightlife
- Lift presence on and Off Trade
- Make the point of celebration the point of conversion
The manifesto: we don't wait for seats
They told us to wait our turn. To follow tradition. To earn approval before we celebrate.
But where we're from, nothing was set for us. So we built anyway. Without invitations. Without handshakes behind closed doors. With ideas, long nights and people who believed before it worked.
And when the first win came, we didn't ask to be seated. We built a table. A louder table. A brighter table. A table earned, not inherited.
The pay-off
Luc Belaire is for those moments. For the builders. For the hosts. For the ones who turn progress into presence.
One idea, every touchpoint
- Social
- “The night reveals who we are. #ClaimYourTable”
- DJ call-out
- “If you're claiming the night, Belaire on the table.”
- Entry
- “You showed up. Now claim the night.”
- Screens and POS
- “Pop. Connect. Unlock. Your status is earned, not given.”
The new rituals
Moments designed to feel inevitable in club culture: champagne energy, but modern, and status without explanation.
The arrival moment
- Belaire is the first bottle on the table: you didn't wait to celebrate
- Guests tap in and their name lights up the venue screens
The Fantôme drop
- Lights dim, the bottle glows, the staff move as one
- It signals that this table matters
Belaire-only nights
- Exclusivity builds credibility: if it's the only option, it becomes the right one
- Staff trained to say what people are choosing tonight
Chapter 4 of 9
Own the night: the club, the screen and the shelf
The bars, clubs and bottle stores where people celebrate are where the choice is made, and they are almost invisible in data. The plan digitises those last three feet, so every screen, table, bottle and shelf leads to the same Luc Belaire members' club.


Three ways to own the night
- Club nights
- DJ-hosted nights with partner clubs, with call-outs for the big spenders who own the night and claim their seat at the table
- Venue takeovers
- Hired venues turned into Luc Belaire “Own the Night” events, with the full toolkit
- Shared events
- VIP access and lounges with LED tables, shared with other status-driven lifestyle brands
-

A takeover, outside: LED pods, branded bars and the DJ booth -

A takeover, inside: every room branded, every table a stage
The Gold-tier toolkit
How Luc Belaire shows up and takes over an event: LED screens, DJ booths, LED tables for four and eight, couches, stanchions and rope, plinths, LED pods, ice buckets and light sabers for the service, a photo booth and a photographer. Packages sell the volume: table-booking combos are announced on the night by the invited creators.

The LED tableThe table you claim, lit for the photo. 
The scan plinthTap a wristband or scan to enter. 
The wristbandAn LED band linked to the guest's digital passport. 
The screensLCD artwork for the big-spender tables. 
The ice bucketThe bottle arrives lit. 
The Fantôme bottleThe hero for high-energy rooms: a label that glows. 
Bottle presentersLit frames for the drop-off moment at the table. 
Back-bar displaysTiered LED stands that put the range on show.
Ways in
- In the venue
- QR codes and NFC on tables, menus, bottles and screens; tablets, menu inserts, table talkers and the service rituals
- At the shelf
- Brand-blocked shelves, high-gloss displays, wobblers, shelf strips and floor markers that lead to the bottle, with gift-with-purchase packs
- On screen
- Brand Box venue screens and 55-inch screens and digital posters in store, each with a clear call to scan
- Connectivity
- The Brand Box gives each venue Wi-Fi, with a SIM backup where there is none, so sign-ups never lag
What the brand already knows works
- 1
- High energy is where to win: the club is the channel that builds desire
- 2
- The Fantôme range, with its illuminated label, drives distinction
- 3
- Full branding, from table talkers to bottle packages, drives trial and conversion
- 4
- Drinks exclusivity on activation days helps sell out and keeps competitors out
From the client's brief. The pitch builds on all four: the toolkit is Fantôme-led, branded end to end, and the Belaire-only night is one of the new rituals.
Chapter 5 of 9
A member's journey, from the scan to the CRM
Scan, connect, unlock: from the point of purchase to a long-term relationship, every step rewards the member and tells the brand something.
Seven steps
-
Scan or tap inA QR code or NFC tag on the table, menu, bottle or screen, on the venue's Brand Box Wi-Fi, opens the members' club.
-
Join, with consentA short sign-up: email, password and an optional VIP invite code. Members accept the terms and privacy policy, and age is checked.
-
Spin and winJoining, and every bottle bought, earns a free spin for an instant prize.
-
Claim the prizeThe winning screen carries a claim code that venue staff scan to hand over the prize.
-
Bought it in a store? Snap the till slipOff Trade purchases count too: a photo of the till slip is checked automatically.
-
Earn points, climb the tiersEach verified purchase earns points and moves the member from Bronze to Silver to Gold.
-
Stay in the conversationShort surveys on nightlife, music and taste earn points, and the CRM keeps in touch by email, WhatsApp, SMS and push messages.

The night out, booked, shared and rewarded
-
Pick the nightUpcoming Luc Belaire nights list tickets and VIP tables from R250 to R4,000, with the tables left counting down.
-
Pay in the appA VIP table is ordered and paid in the app, by card or a mobile wallet.
-
Build your own tableThe host fills each seat at the VIP table and sees who has accepted and who is still pending.
-
Guests get the inviteEach guest receives a WhatsApp invite with the date, the time and a link to register and accept their ticket.
-
Walk in with the passportAt the door, one QR code in the digital passport carries every ticket the member has booked.
-
Check in nearbyGPS-verified check-ins at partner venues nearby earn 500 points each.
-
Watch the points climbEach verified visit shows the points earned, the balance and how close the member is to the next tier.
-
Take on the Belaire challengeA live social challenge counts down; members share their night with #LucBelaireSA to enter.
-
Buy from the Belaire storeThe in-app store sells the range, and every bottle adds points and an entry to the Mini Cooper draw.
-
Count the Mini Cooper entriesMembers see every entry they have earned for the Mini Cooper, drawn live at the campaign finale.

Chapter 6 of 9
Status, rewards and the prizes
Earned access, not given. Every purchase, check-in, post and challenge earns points, a lifetime score that never expires, and credits to spend. Levels unlock premium experiences, exclusive content and bragging rights, on the way to King or Queen of Belaire.

PointsFor every verified bottle. 
The rewards storeBranded gear for credits. 
Bring your peopleInvite friends on WhatsApp. 
Spin and winInstant prizes on the night.
The tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold
Promoters walk members up the ladder on the night: “You're currently Bronze. One more bottle and you hit Silver, with access to the exclusive lounge.” Higher levels unlock better bottle prices, early access to limited drops, VIP bundles, celebration kits and invitations.
What members could win
-
Instant
Spin and win

A free spin for joining and for every bottle: Luc Belaire merchandise, vouchers, event and festival tickets, or an entry into the grand draw.
-
Status
The best seat
VIP access, priority queues and table upgrades; hosted tables and crew nights; DJ shout-outs and playlist features; and, at the end of the year, festival VIP tickets or a curated travel experience for two.
In the take-it-home month, members can win one of 2,000 Luc Belaire cooler boxes.
-
The grand prize
A Mini Cooper
Every bottle bought is one entry: in the app, through a promoter at an event, or in a bottle store with a till slip. A live digital draw at the Grand Finale party picks one verified winner, who must prove their identity.
Wear the brand
Credits buy limited Luc Belaire gear in the rewards store, so members become walking ambassadors.
Chapter 7 of 9
Every mechanic, in detail
One platform behind every ritual, powered by Social Wiiv: tickets, wristbands, photos, points, prizes and messages all land in one CRM.
The Belaire 100/50 Countdown
The volume driver for club nights. Live counters on the venue screens count the bottles down to “sold out”, with hype-men calling out every table that orders, and bottle packages that make the bulk order the natural one. Headline nights count down from 100 bottles, weekly club nights from 50. It also runs as a leaderboard: everyday purchases in stores fuel a member's status at the takeover events.

The arrival moment: RSVP and RFID
Creators and VIPs get branded invitations with QR tickets from a custom RSVP system. Every guest, invited or ticketed, gets a digital passport. At the door they receive an LED RFID wristband linked to it; when they tap in, their name appears on the venue screens, a digital badge of honour. The same tap checks them in at brand activations and sends them their photos.

Signature service: the Fantôme drop
The luminous Fantôme range is the bottle for high-energy rooms. When a table orders, the lights dim and the bottle arrives glowing, on a plinth or in an LED ice bucket, with light sabers and staff choreography: a parade that tells the room this table matters. Bars are stocked with the full range of five cuvées.
The social snapper: a roaming photo booth
Roaming photographers capture the flex moments. A promoter sends each photo by SMS, email or WhatsApp, or the guest taps their wristband. Registering through the link unlocks the high-resolution photo and a free spin for an instant prize; the guest then shares it, and climbs the leaderboard.
Post and tag challenges+50
A new challenge each week, such as “Best Group Pic”, “Hottest Outfit” or “Glow Selfie”: members post a photo or video from their check-ins on Instagram or TikTok, tag Luc Belaire and use the challenge hashtag. A verified post earns 50 points, and the top three win bonus points, vouchers or free tickets. Members can link their social profiles so approved posts sync automatically. Posts are checked once a day and inappropriate content is rejected.
Till slips, the in-app store and the draw
Three ways to buy, all of them counted. In the app, members buy the range for delivery, with discounts that grow with their level. At events, promoters sell through an official link and deliver to the table. In a bottle store, members upload the till slip: it must be no older than seven days, clear and not a duplicate, with at most ten entries per slip. Every bottle is one entry in the grand draw, listed under My Entries.
Check-ins at partner venues
Members check in by GPS or by scanning a branded QR code at partner bars, restaurants, lounges and clubs, and earn points for each verified visit. Repeat check-ins bring members back, and every check-in shows Luc Belaire its top venues and regions.
Book your table, build your table
Events sell in the app: general access, VIP cocktail tables and VIP seated tables with bottles and food included. The host of a table assigns its seats and invites friends by WhatsApp, email or SMS; friends register to accept. A virtual table lets a crew gather around one host, and a free bottle goes to a host when 12 friends join it.

Invite a friend
Members send a WhatsApp link; when a friend signs up and verifies their email and mobile number, the member earns points and credits, and friends can vote for each other's photo submissions for more. Peer-to-peer growth on one of South Africa's most used messaging platforms.
Promoters, on the floor and online
A promoter app runs shifts, check-ins, sign-up QR codes, sales and prizes. On the night, a capture team works the entrance and the photo booth, and a VIP team moves members up the tiers at the tables, with a three-step conversation: the hook (“Ready to own the night?”), the value (your photo on WhatsApp and a free spin) and the access (the next tier). Promoters are rewarded for verified sign-ups, so no fake addresses get in. Online, social coordinators with trusted communities share the campaign on WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and email, paid on performance.
Surveys and messages: the CRM
The brand team writes surveys in the dashboard, from a one-question poll to a full questionnaire, and sends them by level, region or behaviour; members earn points for each. Welcome and verification emails, WhatsApp reminders and invitations, SMS one-time PINs, push notifications and in-app messages keep members active between events. Members' data is captured with consent, stored to POPI standards and linked to Pernod Ricard's own database.
The channels: screens, social and creators
Brand Box venue screens with an audience report; digital billboards bought programmatically by area and audience; paid social on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube and X; content, video and copy made for each; an influencer programme of DJs, hosts and nightlife tastemakers; and the promoter app. Before each event, paid social builds the hype four weeks out and is boosted two weeks out, creators post daily, the local Luc Belaire pages share it, and tickets open through a limited RSVP guest list, then free-ticket draws and paid tickets. Creators say: “This is where the night happens.”
Chapter 8 of 9
What we proposed, and how it would be measured
From guessing to leading.
A pitch, not a campaign: Hello Brand reached the final round and the work has not run. This is how our response answered the brief's four asks.
One big idea
Asked: a long-term, 360-degree creative idea that makes Luc Belaire a modern champagne status symbol for Gen Z flex and impress moments, with a narrative and messaging framework and early art direction within the global brand guidelines.
Our answer: The New Tradition: Claim Your Table. A manifesto, a brand pay-off, lines for every touchpoint and new rituals, anchored in the brand's own purpose, “Self-made tastes better”.
Nightlife toolkit
Asked: high-energy, ritual-led activations in clubs, with a map of how guests enter, engage, taste and learn, branded point-of-sale, bottle rituals, VIP table cues and signature drop-off moments.
Our answer: the Gold-tier takeover kit, the arrival moment, the Fantôme drop and the 100/50 Countdown, with a run sheet for each night from load-in to the final data sync.
Creators and influencers
Asked: a tiered playbook for Gen Z creators, nightlife personalities, DJs and tastemakers, with content guidelines and the hero serve.
Our answer: a platform for members to show their own hustle, whether DJs, artists, gamers or creators; curated DJ and influencer nights; post and tag challenges; the social snapper; and paid online coordinators, all of it tracked.
Premium retail
Asked: shelf presence, premium displays, gifting and seasonal moments, with trial and conversion through tastings, samplers, QR-led storytelling and digital touchpoints.
Our answer: brand-blocked shelves, displays, floor markers and screens with a call to scan; gift-with-purchase packs; till-slip entries that link the shelf to the grand draw and to status at the next takeover.
How the work would be judged
- Distinctive and ownable: fresh, bold and unlike other champagne or spirits campaigns
- Strategic relevance: a deep understanding of Gen Z, nightlife culture and flex moments
- Clarity and coherence: one idea across every touchpoint
- Longevity and flexibility: it adapts across channels and activations over time
- Solves the core challenge: difference, relevance and consideration in the ultra-premium category
- Commercial impact and ease of execution: realistic in a high-energy club, and scalable
Mandatories included compliance with Pernod Ricard's code for commercial communications and South African regulations.
Three tiers of venue
Gold: must-win
- Premium flagship venues: headline “100 bottles” nights and weekly “50 bottles” club nights
- A permanent branded area, the VIP gold chair and the photo booth
- Curated DJ and influencer nights, in-app tickets and rewards
Silver: growth relays
- Secondary and niche local venues, with DJ sets and digital activation
- Bar and DJ-booth naming rights, photo-booth moments
- Community building and event storytelling
Bronze: trial
- Promoter-led digital activation
- Boutique activations with local influencers
- Every bottle package recorded for insight and follow-up
The rollout, event by event
I. Pre-event hype: days 23 to 1
- Teasers through creators, invitations unboxed on social, national countdowns
- Builds the fear of missing out and drives RSVPs
II. Live: the national tour
- Standard “Own the Night” events, venue by venue
- The rituals live; first-party data captured at the door, the booth and the table
III. The legacy: days 1 to 14 after
- Recap reels, “Top 5 moments” and a personal recap for each guest
- Keeps the night relevant and the member loyal
The always-on year
The members' club never switches off: joining, check-ins, till slips, the wallet, the rewards shop, badges, birthday bonuses and surveys run all year. Each month adds a theme on top.
- Month 1
- Join the Club: “Welcome to the New Tradition”
- Month 2
- Bring your people: “Baller energy is shared”
- Month 3
- Show your taste: post the moment, book your seat
- Month 4
- Prove it Off Trade: “The night starts before the night”
- Month 5
- Own the night: tickets, check-ins, status
- Month 6
- The invitation: “This isn't public”
- Month 7
- Rest and reignite: surveys, early-access drops
- Month 8
- Culture carriers: “People don't ask what's trending. They ask you”
- Month 9
- Passport season: multi-venue check-ins, city against city
- Month 10
- The winners' circle: badges and invite-only events
- Month 11
- End-of-year access: “This isn't a prize. It's a place you earned”
- Month 12
- Legacy: leaderboard finals, “It's where your name stays”
One live view: the brand situation room
A live dashboard joins trade, media and consumer data, so the brand team sees performance by country, region, venue tier and channel, talks to venues directly, and moves spend to what works. Data exports in one click and syncs with Pernod Ricard's database through an API. It is how the brand would move from guessing to leading, measured by:
Luc Belaire situation room
What it would be measured by
12 months · sample
- Sample
26,480
Verified consumer profiles
- Sample
+14.2%
Depletion in full-range accounts
- Sample
6,842,000
Impressions from creators and content
- Sample
23.6%
Mobile engagement rate
- Sample
413
Guests per activation
- Sample
15,385
Verified purchases, on and Off Trade
The members' club
- Sample
26,480
Verified consumer profiles
Members who joined with consent and passed the age check
- Sample
23.6%
Mobile engagement rate
Members active in the app in a month: check-ins, posts, surveys, spins
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| M1 | 1,860 |
| M2 | 3,940 |
| M3 | 5,720 |
| M4 | 7,980 |
| M5 | 10,150 |
| M6 | 12,040 |
| M7 | 13,870 |
| M8 | 15,920 |
| M9 | 18,410 |
| M10 | 20,630 |
| M11 | 23,350 |
| M12 | 26,480 |
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Bronze | 19,840 |
| Silver | 5,120 |
| Gold | 1,520 |
of members active in the app in a month
Own the night
- From the case study
11
Venues in South Africa
Across Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal
- From the case study
22
Activations
Club nights and takeovers in South Africa
- Sample
413
Guests per activation
Guests who tapped in at the door, 9,086 across the year
- Sample
+14.2%
Depletion in full-range accounts
Bottles sold through venues stocking all five cuvées, against last year
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Gold: must-win | 685 |
| Silver: growth relays | 394 |
| Bronze: trial | 228 |
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Q1 | 6.8% |
| Q2 | 11.5% |
| Q3 | 15.9% |
| Q4 | 22.6% |
Creators and influencers
- Sample
6,842,000
Impressions from creators and content
DJ and influencer nights, creators' posts, post and tag challenges and venue screens
- Sample
4,930
Post and tag entries
Verified challenge posts, 50 points each
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| DJ and influencer nights | 2,915,000 |
| Creators' own posts | 1,846,000 |
| Post and tag challenges | 1,264,000 |
| Venue screens | 817,000 |
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Q1 | 1,215,000 |
| Q2 | 1,604,000 |
| Q3 | 1,788,000 |
| Q4 | 2,235,000 |
Premium retail
- Sample
15,385
Verified purchases, on and Off Trade
Bottles bought and verified: each one an entry in the grand draw
- Sample
36%
Off Trade share
Bottles verified by till slip or through the in-app store
- On Trade 64%
- Off Trade 36%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| In the club | 9,846 |
| Till slips from bottle stores | 4,212 |
| In-app store | 1,327 |
Rand values excl. VAT. Figures tagged Sample are for illustration only: not results from this or any campaign.
Chapter 9 of 9
Across Africa, and what's next
Shown for South Africa first, in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, then the same kits and the same mechanics in Kenya, Angola, Nigeria and the DRC, with spend scaled to each market. One idea, run centrally and expressed locally.
- Markets
- South Africa, Kenya, Angola, Nigeria and the DRC
- South Africa
- 11 venues and 22 activations across three provinces
- Culture
- Music first: Afro, amapiano, house, hip hop and pop, with art, fashion and lifestyle
- The team
- Hello Brand (strategy and creative), Social Wiiv (the software) and an experiential production partner
Hello Brand reached the final round of Pernod Ricard's agency selection for this brief. Nothing has run, so this page will not show campaign results. For the same client, the Martell programme shows the same platform at work for cognac.
A table earned, not inherited.
Briefing agencies on a premium brand for the club and the shelf? Start a project.






