The Macallan at Art Basel Miami
The Context
The Macallan - a storied whisky producer - has been working with MATTE on rebranding and reaching new audiences in the United States. With nearly 200 years of production, the Macallan wanted to make a splash by re-introducing their craftsmanship and cultural cache in Art Basel 2022.
The Macallan brand had a control on its supply-demand, but was stagnant in precious mindshare. Our challenge was to re-engage a complacent luxury audience while re-igniting a dormant base of aspirational customers with brand-led activations, tastings, and cultural experiences that spoke not only to the brand’s history but also to the exciting future.
The Approach
We brought our cultural strategy to life with activations like Art Basel x James Blake. Our activation involved institutions that enjoy a more traditional cultural caché, like the Bass Museum and New York City Ballet, and fused them with visions of the future, via a performance from James Blake and visualizals from Oscar Zabala. This hybrid-approach reintroduced The Macallan to aspirational and luxury consumers, as an essential, timeless institution that remains relevant within the zeitgeist.
The Outcome
The activation was completely bespoke, with four bars that decorated with textured videos to showcase the natural elements represented by each bottle in The M Collection. Inside the Bass Museum, a small group of VIP guests were invited to a curated dinner experience inspired by the contemporary arts. Plinths displayed a collection of crystal decanters from Lalique, filled with rare Macallan whiskey. Both indoor and outdoor, the experience brought together old world elegance and contemporary luxury.
Experiential Creative Director
Kate Roberts
Creative Director
Tom Lee
Music Programming Director
Eugene Young
Associate Creative Director
David Orellana
Experiential Designer
Noel Zheng
Junior Experiential Designer
Rada Singhasaneh
3D Animator and Renderer
Rene Gibson
Renderer
Andres Weinger
Visual Artist
Oscar Zabala
Head of Experiential Production
Laetitia Sebban
Executive Producer
Amanda Contrada
Douglas Calhoun
Junior Producer
Francesca Lasalla
Production Coordinator
Daniela Miles
Production Assistant
Luke Berry
Talent Buying
Francesca Valente
Group Client Director
Cassie Leventhal
Client Manager
Nicole Elkins
Sara Lucas
Client Services Fellow
Victor Bui
Director of Production
River Myers
Head of Post-Production
Josh Rappaport
Director of Post-Production
Michael Czeinger
Editor
Ben Swanson-Ralph
Junior Producer
Seana Bruff
Post-Production Coordinator
Caroline Fortuna
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