Brands Find Virtual Ways to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Home

You might not be able to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at a bar or restaurant this year, but brands are trying to make it easier to have your own social distancing-approved celebrations with new digital campaigns and virtual events. Tequila and food brands are leveraging social media to not only teach consumers how to make their own margaritas or Mexican eats at home, but also to support the restaurant and bar industry, which has been devastated by the pandemic. Digital events supporting hospitality workers [article_summary section="1"]Patrón is taking the celebration digital this year, opening a Virtual Bar to raise money directly for bartenders as well as charities that support hospitality workers. On May 5, the tequila brand will host a five-hour session on Instagram Live featuring 20 bartenders across the U.S. crafting easy-to-make margaritas at home. The brand will compensate the bartenders for their participation, and include a number on screen for viewers to donate to nonprofit partners C.O.R.E. (Children of Restaurant Employees), Another Round and the James Beard Foundation. The brand donated $1 million to those nonprofits at the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak. [kickout id="1"] Adrian Parker, vp of global marketing at Patrón, said the brand landed on the idea of the Virtual Bar as a way to support bartenders and provide a safe and simple way for consumers to celebrate. “No brand has a pandemic brief sitting in their back pocket. This situation has caused us to rethink how we support our consumers and bartenders, as well as the purpose of a spirits brand right now,” Parker said. “The Virtual Bar gives us an opportunity to support people sheltering at home and connect them to a cultural moment without having to sacrifice safety.” For fans not in the mood to make their own cocktails, Patrón has also partnered with drink delivery app Drizly to launch a platform called Patrón Cocktails To-Go. The location-based platform, live across 15 states in the U.S., shows nearby bars and restaurants offering to-go cocktails. Cholula is also leveraging Instagram Live for the hot sauce brand’s first Tacothon on May 5, which raises money for independent restaurants. Running 7-10 p.m., the event will feature celebrities Milk Bar's Christina Tosi and Indiana Pacers player Victor Oladipo, Tom Colicchio and Sophia Bush, and chef Aaron Sanchez and former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade co-hosting one-hour sessions where they will share their secret taco recipes. The brand will pledge $1 for every viewer who tunes in (up to $100,000) to the Independent Restaurant Coalition, which is working to save local restaurants impacted by Covid-19. Cholula is also supporting local eateries and frontline workers with its ongoing Operation Taco Tuesday initiative, which delivers tacos (with Cholula hot sauce, of course) to medical staff at different hospitals each week. For those who want a more tailored party, Cameo, a platform where celebrities offer personalized video messages, has partnered with Tequila Don Julio to host It’s Cinco Somewhere. The program invites people to donate to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group providing relief to restaurant employees, for a chance to win a video happy hour co-hosted by a celebrity and bartender of their choice. [kickout id="2"] "People need joy, humor and connectivity now more than ever. Tequila Don Julio's It's Cinco Somewhere campaign nails it, while also raising desperately needed funds for a community that has been hit exceptionally hard," said Cameo COO Arthur Leopold in a statement. "Being able to support this campaign enables us to contribute to a good cause as well as reward participants with the thrill of connecting with incredible celebrities in exchange for their generosity." Fans can enter by donating to the nonprofit via DonJulio.Cameo.com. Participants include Houston Rockets player James Harden and Dancing With the Stars' Erin Andrews and Julianne Hough, along with a select group of bartenders. The participating talent also contributed to a Cinco de Mayo video posted on Tequila Don Julio’s Instagram page, in which they sing the popular Mexican song "Cielito Lindo.” To date, Tequila Don Julio has committed $200,000 to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation. Its parent company Diageo also launched a #TipsFromHome social program, which invites followers to tag friends in comments on social posts using the hashtags #TipsFromHome and #DiageoDonation to generate an additional $1 donation per tag (up to $1 million) to other North America-based organizations serving the hospitality industry. Creative ideas for at-home feasts Food is just as important as margaritas for at-home Cinco de Mayo celebrations, and brands are encouraging consumers to make or order their meals with digital programs and social contests. Taco Bell launched an at-home taco bar and online recipe cards for fans to make their own menu items at home. Specifically, the brand released recipes for the Double Decker Taco and the Wild Strawberry Tequila Sunrise, and is inviting fans to post their dishes on social with the hashtag #TacoBellCreations. [kickout id="5"] Avocados From Mexico launched a gamified digital program encouraging consumers to make guacamole at home. For Homemade Cinco, the company introduced a game on its website, inviting fans to spin a wheel that randomly chooses an extra ingredient to add to homemade guacamole, and offers recipes using that ingredient. Avocados From Mexico partnered with ecommerce grocery platform Chicory to provide players the option of buying the ingredients online for pickup at the closest location of their preferred store. Consumers who post their guacamole creations with the hashtags #HomemadeCinco, #Guacamole and #Sweepstakes, and tag the brand's account, are entered to win $50 daily prizes and a grand prize of $500. The program’s landing page also offers consumers additional Cinco de Mayo recipes, DIY decorations and educational facts about the holiday. [kickout id="3"] "In the unprecedented moment that the world is living in, it is the responsibility of everyone who has access to a media platform to amplify the mitigation messages to keep our consumers safe," said Alvaro Luque, president and CEO of Avocados From Mexico, in a statement. "Our Cinco de Mayo campaign is an invitation to celebrate at home with our immediate family in new ways, and to find some joy in the midst of the current situation." Tequila Cazadores is encouraging folks to participate in virtual Cinco de Mayo parties with its #ClosestCinco campaign. The tequila brand has curated a shopping list for skirt steak tacos and margaritas, based on recipes by chef and restaurateur Richard Sandoval, with the ingredients available to order through Instacart. [kickout id="4"] The #ClosestCinco campaign also tapped brand ambassadors Manny Hinojosa and Alan Ruesga-Pelayo, as well as a group of bartenders and lifestyle influencers, to share margarita-making and mixing techniques on Tequila Cazadores’s social channels. And for consumers who’d prefer to not cook for the holiday, Jose Cuervo has launched a contest on Twitter that supports folks who want to order out. Through May 5, the tequila brand is encouraging people across the U.S. to order meals from their favorite independent Mexican restaurants, and tweet their receipts at the brand with the hashtags #CincoToGo and #CuervoContest. The brand will randomly select winners who will have their orders comped through Venmo.

Adapting to Crisis

Brands Find Virtual Ways to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Home

Festivities include virtual bartending classes, dinners and charity programs

Digital events supporting hospitality workers

Ian Zelaya

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Ian Zelaya