Rarely do brands succeed in striking a fair balance between an event theme, in terms of its content and the highly sought after benefit of brand exposure without bombarding the audience with overt self-promotion. Sometimes leaving one feeling like they have been hijacked into the middle of an infomercial or even worse, one ends up missing the linkages between the theme and the brand altogether. The recent Style Maker event by Rémy Martin which took place on the 30th of March was a breath of fresh air in that regard; it had something of an organic feel to it.

On arrival, one got a sense of the thought that went into making the event reality. Approaching the venue, you were welcomed by the Rémy Martin Centaur (an emblem symbolizing virility, long life and health, also the star sign of Paul-Emile Rémy Martin) placed on a water feature in the center of the pathway leading to the entrance, this accented by a soft red light which illuminated the feature in a way that politely requested your attention, instead of demanding it.

The illumination carried through to the building behind the feature, directly in front of you, and gave the transition continuity; encapsulating the outside within the bounds of the same space. Already giving a feeling of warmth and intimacy, even though you are still outside, walking in.

The event forms part of the One Life/Live Them global campaign. The campaign recognizes that we are defined by more than just one thing and celebrates individuals who’ve proven themselves versatile in that regard; those who live it. It also seeks to encourage us to live life to the fullest; as multifaceted individuals. For me, at the center of it all is expertise. The event was one attempt to bring that campaign concept closer to a wider audience.

What struck the most for me was the respect afforded to the smallest details. This, in my view, was how the balance was brought to life, for the most part. The brand was barely noticeable, yet it was everywhere. You mostly noticed it in the objects you interacted with throughout the evening; such as the cushions when you had to sit down, the glasses when you went for a drink, at the bar, and other small items around the space. The branding blended within the environment. Even the banners were not invasive. The few that were there were placed with consideration.

Rémy Martin partnered with three individuals who embodied the campaign message, dubbed the Makers. In this case, they practice their craft within the fashion industry; Dan Fuller, a custom jewelry maker, Louis II a shirt maker and Gemini a handcrafts maker, who evidently has a certain affinity to leather.

We’d been divided into 3 groups and each one assigned a brand ambassador as a host that would help navigate through happenings of that evening. Each of the groups then took turns to visit each maker in their allocated space. We got to celebrate the expertise they represent, and also interacted with their stories as told by them. The event was very much about them and the expertise they exude.

Which brings us back to the spirit. As we celebrated the talents and hard work, it was such a natural fit that we would, in that very same space, get to appreciate Rémy Martin’s COGNAC offerings, themselves symbols of expertise and unfettered dedication to one’s craft and this with the guidance of our hosts as they presented each bottle and had us go through a somewhat more educing tasting journey.

The tastings were coupled with two types of pairings, interesting enough; cognac and food and/or chocolate and then the unconventional pairing between Rémy Martin’s different cognac offerings and the Makers, particularly their stories.

The idea was to go through a tasting with the guidance of our host; to help us savour the flavours, more technically and then the experience was paired with each of the makers’ stories. Here however, though somewhat understandable, I felt like the pre-pairing was a bit of a stretch. To me, the tasting experience is a personal one and as such what we associate it with will always be informed by that personal experience. So as I saw it, rather than determining the association, the brand was actually creating one.

In any case, when you get to sip the amber liquid under such circumstances, one cannot help but enjoy a more bodied experience. Something of a phenomenon, which itself led me to a conclusion: this drink is best enjoyed with good anticipation.

Here’s a sneak peak of the event in pictures (by Luke Walker):