Holsten celebrates Saudi National Day with immersive activation at Riyadh Boulevard

For Saudi National Day 2025, Holsten brought its “Treat Yourself” campaign to life in a way that combined cultural relevance, interactivity, and brand immersion. The activation took place at Riyadh Boulevard, one of the Kingdom’s busiest lifestyle destinations, running from September 22nd to 24th.

“The activation was inspired by the Georgina Rodríguez x Holsten ‘Treat Yourself’ campaign, which celebrates everyday moments of indulgence and self-expression,” says Dorothea Drews, Head of Marketing MEA at Carlsberg Group. “The creative vision was to bring this campaign to life in an immersive, high-footfall cultural space, where consumers could directly interact with Holsten and experience the brand’s modern, premium positioning in a fun and relevant way.”

The campaign had three clear objectives. “First, we wanted to drive visibility by making sure Holsten had a strong presence in one of Riyadh’s busiest lifestyle destinations, especially during such a high-traffic period. At the same time, we aimed to engage consumers at scale by creating an interactive experience that felt connected to the spirit of Saudi National Day, not just a product giveaway, but something that people could genuinely enjoy and share. And finally, a big focus was on accelerating trial. We wanted to get Holsten bottles directly into people’s hands, so they could experience the product on the spot and connect it to the celebration,” Drews explains.

The activation targeted young adults and families celebrating the holiday. It featured a pop-up space with interactive elements, strong visual branding, and direct sampling.

“In just three days, over 21,000 bottles were distributed, which really allowed people to try Holsten on the spot. We also leaned into cultural cues, like having Rajeev Bakala and the ad characters on-site, which turned into an unexpected photo demand driver. One of the interesting insights we saw was how the Georgina x Holsten photo wall became a kind of social hotspot, people weren’t just taking bottles, they were creating and sharing content, which amplified the activation far beyond the physical event,” says Drews.

Localisation played a key role in making the campaign resonate. The activation coincided with Saudi National Day, used Arabic messaging across more than 80 screens, and collaborated with local media partners.

Influencers were also integral to the campaign’s reach. “We partnered with platforms like WhatsOn, Lovin Saudi and TimeOut who have strong credibility in lifestyle and cultural coverage. The idea was to lean on voices that already resonate with our target audience, and that worked very well. What was great is that influencers were also present at the activation itself, creating live content, interacting with the pop-up, and driving even more visibility on the ground. Their on-site coverage captured the experience authentically and then amplified it to millions beyond the Boulevard,” Drews notes.

The activation was a collaborative effort, with Brand Commandos managing the pop-up build and operations, Boho Films handling content creation, M&C Saatchi leading creative strategy, and dentsu overseeing media.

Success metrics reflected the campaign’s scale: over 75,000 visitors engaged, 21,000 bottles sampled, and a total reach exceeding 3.1 million across on-ground, media, and influencer activity.

The Holsten Saudi National Day activation illustrates how experiential campaigns, when culturally tailored and interactive, can achieve significant visibility, engagement, and product trial in a short timeframe.

Credits:

Carlsberg Group

Head of Marketing MEA – Dorothea Drews

Brand Manager MEA – Sally Shin

M+C Saatchi

ECD: Cristiano Tonnarelli

CD: Jarrad Pitts

ACD: Zainab Yasseen

ACD: Mahmoud Gahallah

JCW: Ahmed Bahaa

JAD: Ahmed Mansour

Group AD: Rasha Lambe