RIPPING UP THE RULEBOOK: RTD SAMPLING ACTIVATION FOR VOODOO RANGER VANDAL × NEW BELGIUM BREWING

When New Belgium Brewing set out to launch Voodoo Ranger Vandal—their bold new entry into the ready-to-drink cocktail category—they needed more than a sampling program. They needed a brand world. One that could cut through a crowded RTD market, drive real trial at scale, and plant a flag in culture. They partnered with Evolve Activation to make it happen.

Challenge

The ready-to-drink cocktail space is loud, crowded, and littered with look-alike brands competing on flavor and price. Vandal wasn't built to play that game. With two shots of vodka per can, three bold flavors (Blue Raz, Citrus Charge, and Cherry Limeade), and a brand ethos rooted in tearing up the rulebook, Vandal needed an experiential program that matched its attitude—one that could drive high-volume trial and establish a genuine cultural identity.

New Belgium also had a strategic goal beyond the launch moment: prove the model across five incubator markets (Ohio, Arizona, and Nevada first; New Mexico and Colorado to follow) and build toward a national rollout. Every activation needed to work both as a consumer touchpoint and a scalable blueprint.

Solution

Evolve developed a multi-market experiential sampling tour anchored by a marquee kickoff event on Fremont Street in Las Vegas—one of the highest-traffic entertainment corridors in the country.

The Fremont Street Activation

Timed to March Madness, the Fremont event deployed a 30' x 40' branded footprint directly beneath the iconic Fremont Street Experience canopy. Custom directional signage and bold graphics—integrated with New Belgium's world record-setting digital March Madness bracket spanning nearly three city blocks overhead—funneled massive foot traffic directly into the activation.

The experience was built around three distinct pillars:

1. Flavor Sampling — Choose Your Own Adventure Rather than defaulting to a single featured product, guests were invited to try all three Vandal flavors and pick their favorite. This "choose your own adventure" mechanic extended dwell time, deepened brand engagement, and generated a unique KPI: most popular flavor by market—actionable data that informed future retail strategy.

2. Live Street Art — A Mural, Not a Photo Op A 12-foot by 8-foot black canvas anchored the set, where a locally sourced Las Vegas street artist created a live mural during the activation. Working within venue constraints on aerosol paint, Evolve sourced graffiti mops—ink-filled pens with sponge tips that are fully authentic to street art culture—producing striking drip-style murals with zero compromise on aesthetic. This wasn't a brand stunt. It was a real creative moment.

3. Interactive Art Installations — The Vandal Character Brought to Life Three local Las Vegas artists each received a pair of culturally iconic sneakers and a skateboard, along with the creative brief: draw inspiration from one Vandal flavor and the city itself. The resulting custom art was displayed museum-style alongside the graffiti wall, giving guests a reason to linger, explore, and engage with the brand story beyond the sample cup. Guests could also suggest elements for the live mural in real time, making the art participatory—not just decorative.

The fabrication was intentional throughout. The sampling bar featured powder-coated corrugated metal and custom mesh framing—materials that looked and felt authentic to the Vandal visual world. The set was also designed to flat-pack and travel, built from the start to become the foundation of the full multi-market tour.

The Broader Program

Fremont was the proof of concept. From there, Evolve rolled the program across Ohio, Arizona, and Nevada—adapting key set elements to new venues while maintaining the visual and experiential consistency that made the Fremont activation land so hard. Liquor store samplings, large-scale events, and high-foot-traffic gas station takeovers (including a splash activation ahead of EDC Las Vegas) extended the program's reach into the moments and environments where Vandal's target consumer actually lives.

Results

The Vandal program delivered strong early performance across every dimension that matters—trial, engagement, and brand momentum.

12,850 samples distributed across the initial four days of Las Vegas activations

7,790 direct consumer engagements within the footprint—a high conversion rate from passerby to active participant

Strong dwell time driven by the multi-faceted experience, with guests consistently sampling multiple flavors and spending meaningful time with the brand

Positive purchase intent, with frequent on-site inquiries about where to buy Vandal—a leading indicator of retail lift

Continued investment: the success of the launch led directly to expanded sampling markets and additional high-impact activations, including EDC Las Vegas gas station takeovers—validating both the creative approach and the scalability of the model

Key Metrics

12,850+ Samples Distributed
7,790+ Direct Consumer Engagements
3 Incubator Markets Activated
1 World Record (Largest Digital March Madness Bracket)

Why It Worked

Most RTD sampling programs hand someone a cup and move on. The Vandal program gave consumers a reason to stay—and a story worth telling. By building a set that looked like it belonged to the brand, sourcing artists who were genuine participants in street culture, and designing interactions that rewarded curiosity, Evolve turned a sampling tour into a brand world consumers could actually step into.

The modular architecture of the program meant that what worked in Las Vegas could be refined and scaled without starting over—a critical factor for a brand trying to prove itself market by market before a national launch.

Vandal wasn't here to blend in. The activation made sure of it.

Ready to build an experiential program that does more than check boxes? Contact Evolve Activation to talk strategy.

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