Heard Togerther

In 2025, Red Finch non-alcoholic beer entered a category where it had become difficult for newcomers to get noticed. After global brands left Russia, the shelf was filled with new names. In the first half of 2024 alone, 96 new beer brands appeared.

Consumers faced an oversupply of new brands. In beer, shoppers fall back on a familiar repertoire — a taste they know, an image they recognise — though 29% of Russians say they like trying new things. Being on the shelf wasn't enough: there had to be an emotional reason to notice this brand specifically.

A parallel problem existed in music. New artists compete for attention among thousands of others, where a good product is no longer enough: without promotion, feedback and an audience, even strong tracks go unheard.

Both worlds were in the same situation — too many new names, not enough attention.

Problem

Red Finch risked becoming just another unfamiliar name on the shelf, with no brand awareness, trust, or emotional connection. A standard advertising campaign could deliver reach, but it would not solve the core launch challenge: giving the audience an emotional reason to notice and try Red Finch 0.0.

The biggest risk was not low awareness alone, but getting lost among the many new names. We needed to move quickly from “just another unknown brand on the shelf” to a brand that sparks interest and feels worth trying.

Main goal: Successfully launch Red Finch in Russia’s non-alcoholic beer market by building brand awareness and establishing it as “a brand worth trying” in a crowded category.

Marketing: Build awareness of Red Finch 0.0 and achieve meaningful recognition among the category’s new entrants.

Communication: Shift perceptions from “just another new brand on the shelf” to “a brand worth trying.”

Media: Deliver reach and amplify the project through channels and influencers relevant to the audience’s cultural context.

Social impact: Help emerging musicians get heard.

Solution

Strategy. A young non-alcoholic beer brand and emerging musicians faced the same challenge: they had a quality product, but no fans. Together, the brand and the artists could break through.
Today, emerging artists find their first fans, reactions and communities on social media rather than radio or TV. The project was therefore built social-first. Social media became its primary environment rather than a support channel, receiving 50% of the media budget.

Idea. We turned the Red Finch launch budget into a media resource for both the brand and emerging musicians.
We split RUB 15 million between promoting the brand and the artists. Every ruble did double duty: it built awareness of Red Finch while giving emerging musicians an audience.

Execution: Social. Social media was integrated into every stage of the project: applications through a bot, selection through expert channels, voting through a mini app and reactions, and the final through livestreams and online content from the live event.
The project’s accounts became its central hub. They guided the audience through each stage, explained the mechanics and introduced the experts, participants and selection results.

For listeners, social media became a space for participation. In the mini app, they played “Star or Unknown,” voted for musicians through the “People’s Expert” initiative, and left reactions and comments.

Every placement across every channel served both the artist and the brand. One principle took many forms: social media, banners, streaming services, music shows, radio spots, earned media and events.

Execution: Influence. Influencers delivered more than reach. They provided feedback, support and credibility from the music scene, creating additional value for participants. The system had three tiers.
1) Ambassador Markul was not simply the face of the campaign. He guided the entire journey by announcing the project, supporting participants, meeting the finalists, selecting the winner and giving them the stage. His seven pieces of content delivered reach, while his personal involvement built trust. For musicians, it felt like a project led by someone from their world rather than a brand-run competition.

2) The expert council brought together influential voices from the music scene. DJ CHELL, Wicked Selecta, Lovanda and representatives of music media evaluated tracks and amplified the project within their communities through 33 posts, guest appearances, track reviews and livestreams.

3) The public vote turned the audience into active decision-makers who selected the winners alongside the experts.

Execution: Mechanics; We did more than split the budget. We created a five-level support system that increased the brand’s reach and gave artists a new source of feedback at every level.
Level 1: Social media support / Feedback from listeners
Level 2: Banner and streaming advertising / Feedback from industry experts
Level 3: Radio rotation / Feedback from the music jury
Level 4: Media and event integrations / Feedback from the celebrity jury
Level 5: A major live stage and music show integrations / Feedback from the ambassador

This system allowed hundreds of musicians to appear in Red Finch advertising and thousands more to receive feedback.

Results

One budget helped both the brand and the musicians get noticed.
Red Finch. 0 → 42% brand awareness / 0 → 14% product trial / +8 p.p. association with music / #1 beer brand launch in Russia in 2025, according to Ipsos
Musicians. Over 10,000 applications submitted / Over 6,000 participants received feedback / 157 musicians appeared in Red Finch advertising and gained additional reach / 35 musicians significantly increased their streams
32,000,000 Total Reach — Combined reach across the brand and 157 artists.
Of the total, social media accounted for 16 million in reach, including 5.44 million in organic reach. The 9,214 UGC posters created by musicians generated 2.76 million in organic reach.
Social media activations, including the “Star or Unknown” mini app, the “People’s Expert” vote, reactions, comments and reposts, attracted 54,500 participants and generated 95,910 interactions.
The project’s Telegram channels achieved an ER of 17.97% and an ErV of 6.52%. Both figures exceeded the category benchmarks for branded Telegram channels.
The project’s accounts gained 8,465 followers organically, without any paid media support.