Why Every Brand Needs to Own an Occasion
One of the biggest lessons I took from my years in experiential marketing is this: if you want people to remember your brand, you need to define the occasion you want to own.
It’s simple. It’s overlooked. And it changes everything.
In my Anheuser-Busch days, it was crystal clear:
NÜTRL owned the EDM festival crowd
Busch Light owned country music
Michelob ULTRA owned the golf course
None of these decisions happened by accident. They were intentional bets on moments that matched the brand’s energy, audience, and behavior. And once those moments were defined, everything - from partnerships to sampling to distribution - became easier.
Why Occasions Matter
Most brands fixate on who they're talking to (age, location, interests)… but “who” is only half the picture.
People make decisions based on context. Where they are. What they’re doing. How they want to feel.
Occasions reveal:
When your product makes the most sense
When your consumer is most open to choosing you
When you can attach yourself to a feeling, not just a use case
And feelings create brand memory.
Occasion Ownership = Strategic Shortcut
When you’re clear on your occasion, you stop trying to be everywhere and start becoming the default choice in one specific moment. That focus shows up in:
Your messaging (“the drink you grab before ___”)
Your partnerships
Your sampling strategy
Your content
Your retail plays
Your marketing calendar
Everything gets tighter and more aligned because you’re building toward one thing.
How to Find Your Occasion
If you’re not sure where your brand naturally fits, start with three questions:
What is the emotional or functional “state” your product supports?
(Energy, calm, connection, focus, creativity, etc.)Where does your ideal consumer already show up to feel that way?
(Fitness classes, morning routines, late-night scrolling, road trips, weekend markets…)What moment is currently underserved in your category?
(The “after the gym but before work” moment, the “Sunday reset,” the “post-event unwind,” etc.)
Your occasion doesn’t have to be flashy. It just has to be true.
Examples Outside of Beverages
This applies everywhere:
A skincare brand that “owns” the nighttime wind-down
A coffee shop that owns the slow Sunday morning
A fitness studio that owns the “I’m finally doing this” new-member moment
A subscription box that owns the Tuesday-night boredom relief
It’s not about competing for the biggest moment. It’s about choosing yours and building equity there.
What Happens When You Don’t Own One
When you skip this step, your brand starts to float.
Your content feels scattered.
Your marketing strategy feels reactive.
Your partnerships lack intention.
Your story gets blurry.
Consumers don’t instinctively know when you fit into their lives. And that lack of clarity costs you.
Brands Win When They Create (or Claim) Context
If you’ve been feeling stuck on messaging, content, or growth lately, this is often the missing link. You don’t need a full rebrand or a 50-page strategy. You just need to define the moment you want to own and build from there.
If you want help identifying your occasion, mapping your brand story to it, or turning it into a marketing strategy you can use day-to-day, that’s the exact work I do with clients inside High Frequencies Collective.
Because the right occasion? It turns your brand from “one option” into the obvious option.
Send me an email at lara@highfrequenciescollective.com and let’s identify your moment together.