Voodoo Ranger Vandal x new Belgium brewing
Breaking into markets. Without blending in.
A multi-market launch tour for Voodoo Ranger Vandal.
Three states. Six markets. Fifty-six event days. One unapologetically disruptive brand built to make its presence known.
When New Belgium Brewing prepared to introduce Voodoo Ranger Vandal across a set of critical launch markets, the assignment began as a sampling program. It quickly became something bigger: a market-by-market brand launch built to create trial, support local sales teams, and establish what it means to be a Vandal in culture.
Evolve Activation built the field strategy, the physical brand world, and the local operating model to take Vandal from Fremont Street to the road without sanding down any of its edge.
CHALLENGE
The RTD category is crowded with brands competing on flavor, price, and shelf space. Vandal entered differently: two shots of vodka per can, bold flavors, a graffiti-led visual identity, and an attitude rooted in refusing to fit in. The launch experience had to feel just as fearless as the product.
At the same time, the program needed additional commercial work. Conditions varied widely across Phoenix, Las Vegas, Reno, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Some markets needed merchandising and account support; others needed new retail introductions. Every city required its own mix of sampling, selling support, cultural events, and local relationships while still delivering one unmistakably Vandal consumer experience.
Solution
Evolve created a hybrid, multi-market launch program spanning Arizona, Nevada, and Ohio, connecting retail support, local sales collaboration, and high-impact sampling across six priority markets. Strong early performance led New Belgium to expand the program, giving Evolve more opportunities to put Vandal in consumers’ hands and build momentum market by market.
The model connected the full path from awareness to purchase: field managers supported retail accounts and local sales teams during the week, while weekends came alive through on-premise and off-premise sampling, street teams, and larger cultural activations.
The Market-by-market Launch Engine
1. Trial That Converted
Across bars, convenience stores, liquor stores, festivals, and neighborhood events, sampling was the most reliable unlock. Consumers tried Vandal, asked where to buy it, and purchased it when sales were available alongside the experience.
2. Retail Support That Built The Business.
Field managers worked directly with local representatives to strengthen the brand at shelf: checking inventory, improving displays, placing pricing tags, installing posters, racks, and coolers, and documenting every visit with photos, POS details, conversations, and follow-up needs
3. Local Strategy, Not a Copy-and-Paste Tour.
In Phoenix, the team focused on strengthening existing Circle K, chain, and independent accounts. In Cleveland, the approach shifted to high-potential independent retailers, using competitive sales data to identify consumers already seeking bold, high-ABV value propositions.
Where Vandal Showed Up
The event filter was simple: authentic, unexpected, and never boring. Evolve balanced high-volume moments with the local places and subcultures where Vandal could genuinely belong.
Fremont Street, Las Vegas. A marquee launch activation under the Fremont Street Experience canopy put Vandal at the center of one of the country’s highest-traffic entertainment corridors.
Taste of Cincinnati + Reno River Festival. Large-scale festival footprints paired trial with nearby product sales, creating a clean line between experience and conversion.
Skatopia. The notoriously unfiltered Southern Ohio skate-and-punk festival gave Vandal a chance to support a community that fully embraced the brand’s rule-breaking spirit.
Walter Studios + Wonder Bar. Artsy and nightlife-driven local venues in Phoenix and Cleveland helped the program meet consumers inside credible cultural environments.
Crankdat + High-Energy Music Moments. A major Arizona EDM show and other local partnerships brought the brand into spaces where bold flavor and bold self-expression naturally collided.
The mix mattered. Vandal could command a major festival footprint, take over a neighborhood account, or appear in a local bar without ever feeling like a generic corporate sponsor.
Local Art. Real Credibility.
Vandal’s graffiti aesthetic was never treated as a surface graphic. Evolve partnered with artists from each launch market to make the brand feel created with the community, not dropped into it.
CITY-SPECIFIC ARTIFACTS. Local graffiti artists customized culturally iconic sneakers inspired by Vandal, its flavors, and their city. Six finished pieces, one representing each market, became portable expressions of the tour’s local point of view.
LIVE MURAL MOMENTS. At larger activations, muralists transformed an 8' x 8' black canvas featuring the Vandal character outline. Each artist brought a distinct style, often weaving in local references, flavor cues, and the energy of the event in real time.
RECOGNITION OVER APPROPRIATION. At community-led events such as Skatopia and Columbus’s Half Baked Brew, Evolve partnered with artists audiences already knew and supported. Guests recognized the talent, gathered to watch the work unfold, and responded to a brand showing up with respect for the scene.
The art attracted attention, created dwell time, and gave consumers more to discover than a sample cup. More importantly, it made Vandal feel locally relevant and culturally fluent, exactly the kind of cool consumers can recognize but brands cannot manufacture overnight.
Results
The multi-market tour proved that Vandal’s disruptive brand world could scale without becoming standardized. The work generated trial, created new retail visibility, strengthened distributor and account relationships, and gave local sales teams the field intelligence needed to keep building momentum.
Program Expanded Strong early performance led New Belgium to extend the tour and invest in additional opportunities across the launch markets.
Consistent Conversion Every off-premise sampling event showed consumer conversion to purchase, validating trial as the campaign’s strongest commercial lever.
New Placements Successful on-premise samplings helped earn additional account placements for Vandal in multiple markets.
Retail Visibility at Scale The team visited more than 556 stores and placed 662 pieces of display material, building thousands of additional opportunities for Vandal to stand apart at shelf.
Brand Assets With Staying Power A fully wrapped Las Vegas convenience store was approved for three days, then left in place for the entire summer because the retailer loved the look. The location later hosted a second activation.
Actionable Field Intelligence Detailed account reports gave New Belgium a clear record of inventory, POS placement, retailer conversations, visual proof, and follow-up opportunities across the tour.
THE TOUR, BY THE NUMBERS
3
STATES ACTIVATED
6
LAUNCH MARKETS
56
EVENT DAYS
556+
RETAIL STORES VISITED
662
DISPLAY PIECES PLACED
1
SCALABLE LAUNCH PLATFORM
PhoenixLas VegasRenoClevelandColumbusCincinnati
Why It Worked
Most sampling tours optimize for how many cups leave the bar. Vandal required a more complete definition of success: build trial, create fans, support sales, earn cultural relevance, and leave every market stronger than we found it.
Evolve designed the program around that full ecosystem. The team used local sales intelligence to determine where the brand could win, then paired commercial discipline with an event strategy that refused to feel predictable. At every scale, from a marquee launch moment on Fremont Street to a convenience-store shelf or a lawless-feeling skate festival, the brand showed up with the same fearless point of view.
Local artists gave the experience credibility. Flexible field managers gave the program market intelligence. Sampling gave consumers the proof. And a modular brand world allowed Vandal to travel without losing what made it distinctive in the first place.
Vandal was never interested in fitting in with the crowd. The multi-market tour made sure it never had to.
We would love to talk to you about your upcoming brand launch!
Contact Evolve Activation to talk strategy.