New Belgium - Voodoo Ranger
Driving awareness and engagement as one of the first alcohol brands on TikTok, using best-practice creative, media, and measurement across key seasons.
The objective
Modernize the IPA category and build awareness with younger, legal-drinking-age consumers
Voodoo Ranger set out to refresh how beer brands show up on social by becoming a first mover in the alcohol category on TikTok. The goal was to connect with new audiences, build brand familiarity ahead of competitors, and use TikTok as a core channel for cultural relevance. To do this, the team needed a full-funnel strategy that unified seasonal moments, premium media products, evolving creative formats, and a strong measurement foundation.
The solution
Maximizing reach and engagement with premium products like Max Pulse, Top Feed and measurement studies
Voodoo Ranger has steadily grown its presence on TikTok by combining smart media choices with bold creative experimentation. The brand has leaned into key cultural moments like Halloween, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July, using multiple Top Feed and Max Pulse campaigns to reach audiences at scale and expand its influence on the platform. Video View campaigns were also optimized to drive deeper engagement with creative content, moving audiences from awareness to consideration.
Originally known for its animated brand videos, Voodoo Ranger expanded its approach this year through TikTok Creative Exchange (TTCX), creating fresh content that strengthened its organic presence while maintaining a high bar for creativity. Through TikTok’s Organic Alpha program, the brand became one of the first alcohol advertisers able to boost 21+ age-gated organic content, blending paid and organic strategies to amplify its authentic voice and community presence.
To ensure every investment drove measurable impact, Voodoo Ranger built a full-funnel measurement strategy grounded in data and experimentation. The brand used Multicell Studies to help test and refine audiences, creative strategies, and investment levels, as well as Brand Lift Studies to measure how creative assets and top-of-funnel campaigns like Top Feed drove awareness and affinity. This continuous cycle of testing and learning enabled smarter budget allocation and maximized ROI across all activities.
The results
Driving awareness with a full-funnel strategy
Across multiple campaigns, Voodoo Ranger saw strong lifts in every key brand metric. In aggregate, Top Feed delivered 29.2M impressions and 48.6K clicks, Video Views drove 66.7M impressions and 150.5K clicks, and Max Pulse generated 15.7M impressions and 27.1K clicks. This multi-campaign performance shows that their first-to-market strategy, consistent TikTok investment, and creative excellence not only captured attention, but also moved consumers from awareness to familiarity. Collectively, these efforts contributed to a 26.7% lift in ad recall and a 13.9% lift in awareness, establishing Voodoo Ranger as a benchmark for beer brands on the platform.
Tips & key takeaways
Lead with premium placements for scale. Products like Top Feed and Max Pulse help brands capture immediate attention during key seasonal moments.
Refresh your creative often. Blending signature brand style with creator-led content assets keeps content feeling fresh and drives stronger engagement.
For long-term success on TikTok, measurement is key. Running multiple Brand Lift Studies and gathering early learnings helps alcohol advertisers better plan and refine their media and creative strategies for always-on and seasonal campaigns.
We know Voodoo Ranger fans spend a lot of time on TikTok, and with the platform now open to alcohol advertisers, we’ve been fine-tuning our ad strategies to better capture their attention. This brand lift study confirms that our targeting and creative approach are resonating by successfully reaching and engaging our drinkers where they already are.