Case Study: Turning a Slogan into a Cultural Movement for Bawdar Beer

In a crowded market, a great brand name is a powerful asset. For Bawdar Beer—whose name means “friend” in Myanmar—the potential was immense. But a name is just a name until it becomes an action. The challenge was to transform a simple slogan, “Raise up a Bawdar!”, into a genuine cultural call-to-action that resonated across the entire consumer landscape.

The Challenge: From Brand Promise to Lived Experience

Bawdar’s brand image is built on being the comfortable, easy-to-drink beverage that brings friends together. To deepen this connection, the brand needed to move beyond passive messaging. The central challenge was twofold:

1. How could we make the slogan “Raise up a Bawdar!” a tangible, participatory experience for a mass audience?
2. How could we simultaneously capture the interest of the notoriously hard-to-reach Gen-Z demographic in an authentic way?

The Approach: A Dual-Pronged Strategy of Mass Celebration and Niche Passion

Blink engineered a broad, multi-faceted campaign that fused large-scale physical activations with targeted digital engagement, ensuring the brand connected with different friendship circles in the spaces where they naturally gather.

1. Bawdar Assemble: Bringing Friendship to Life, On-the-Ground

To capture the mass market, we launched "Bawdar Assemble." This campaign brought the brand’s ethos of camaraderie to life through a massive integrated effort:

• Digital Kickoff: A high-impact social media video showcasing Bawdar as the catalyst for connection set the stage, immediately generating huge viewership.
• Physical Activation: We rolled out on-ground events across 60 urban outlets in Yangon and Mandalay. These were not simple promotions; they were "Bawdar" hubs, complete with carnival games, photo booths, and prizes, creating physical spaces for friends to connect over a beer.

2. Bawdar Game Night: Hacking Subculture to Win Gen-Z

To strategically target Gen-Z, we tapped into the explosive growth and cultural currency of the gaming community.

• Authentic Integration: We organized two major esports events, the Bawdar Dota 2 Tournament and the Bawdar FIFA Tournament, positioning the brand at the center of this passionate community.
• Credible Voices: We collaborated with famous local gaming streamers and influencers, producing video content that resonated authentically with players. This was amplified by partnerships with gaming media and a network of macro and micro-influencers.
• Community Engagement: We fueled continuous buzz through User-Generated Content (UGC) campaigns, quizzes, and giveaways, making the audience active participants rather than passive viewers.

The Impact: Dominating Across Demographics

The campaign successfully turned Bawdar’s brand promise into a tangible reality, delivering exceptional results across both strategic pillars.

Bawdar Assemble (Mass Market):

• 11.5 million views on the kickoff video.
• Over 10,000 engagements on the brand page.
• Over 9,000 people attended the on-ground events, translating digital reach into physical participation.

Bawdar Game Night (Gen-Z):

• 5 million video views on gaming-specific content.
• 4.9 million reach across all tournament-related posts.
• Over 271 teams and players participated, cementing Bawdar’s credibility within the gaming community.

By understanding that a “bawdar” can be both a person and a product, Blink engineered a campaign that successfully invited everyone to “Raise up a Bawdar!”, and gave them compelling reasons to do so.