Don Julio courted Korea's art crowd via Frieze 91 to lift tequila off the party shelf

Reposition Don Julio from a cheap, party-centric shot to a premium spirit for upscale celebrations and refined tastes in the Korean market.

Skip the party-shot aisle: partner with Frieze 91 and run the Por Amor pop-up during Frieze Seoul Week, so Korea meets Don Julio as an art patron

Jung von Matt HANGANG handled creative strategy, experiential marketing and video: a multi-platform Por Amor pop-up spanning in-person events, digital media and arts-and-culture platforms, followed by 15- and 30-second films spotlighting the event's highlights.

No results figures were disclosed. The brand spent Frieze Seoul Week embedded in one of the art world's most prestigious events as a patron of modern art, and Diageo Korea called luxury tequila an essential element of Korean celebratory gatherings.

In October 2024 Diageo Korea teamed with Frieze 91, the membership programme of the art fair Frieze, as an associate partner to bring Don Julio's Por Amor campaign to the Korean market, with agency Jung von Matt HANGANG planning the project.

The pairing was about positioning: tequila in Korea was traditionally a cheap, party-centric liquor, and Por Amor set out to present Don Julio as a premium spirit for upscale celebrations. As a patron of modern art inside one of the art world's most prestigious events, the brand leaned on storytelling around shared values of passion, creativity and cultural heritage.

The centrepiece was the Por Amor pop-up, a multi-platform experience across in-person events, digital media and arts-and-culture platforms. Jung von Matt HANGANG supported with creative strategy, experiential marketing and video production, and created 15- and 30-second films spotlighting the event's highlights, launched in early October.

The repositioning device is borrowed prestige: rather than arguing the liquid is premium, the brand stands where premium consumers already go.

It enters an existing cultural ritual, Frieze Seoul Week, instead of manufacturing its own occasion, so the audience arrives pre-qualified.

An associate partnership on a membership programme outlasts a one-off media buy: the Frieze 91 association persists beyond the pop-up itself.

The agency treated it as a template: JvM HANGANG's chief creative officer called the Don Julio-Frieze pairing a precedent for high-impact, culturally resonant campaigns.

A challenger to a category image can borrow the prestige of the institution its desired audience already trusts, and a membership partnership keeps the association alive after the pop-up closes.

The 15- and 30-second films went live in early October 2024 around Frieze Seoul Week. Diageo Korea's brand managers said luxury tequila was gaining attention in Korean lounges and pubs and promised further activities to solidify Don Julio's brand position; the source discloses no sales or campaign-performance figures.