When I say summer, you’ll say Aperol?
Fun fact: before writing this post, I’d never had an Aperol spritz.
I knew it was a thing, that it existed. I recognised the eye-catching orange adorning tables in every pub garden, the pitchers full of the stuff at friends’ parties - it was even the beverage of choice of my dad as he waited for the BBQ to heat up.
However, I’d never actually tried it myself. I was brought up with Pimms announcing the arrival of summer, but now? Now, it’s Aperol’s time to shine.
Post summary: Aperol’s viral bucket hat campaign turned the Italian apéritif into a summer lifestyle icon, using its signature orange branding, scarcity marketing, and social media buzz. By pairing stylish merch with emotional storytelling, Aperol built brand loyalty and seasonal recognition worldwide. The strategy shows how distinctive brand assets and promotional giveaways can transform a drink into a cultural trend.
‘The Aperol Effect’, as it’s dubbed, has rebranded summer to orange - and we, as a nation, are pretty big fans of it.
Hailing from Padua, Italy (which is just outside Venice), sales of Aperol have quadrupled over the last few years, with Capari (Aperol’s parent company) needing to double its production capacity to keep up with global demand.
But how did a 100-year-old Italian apéritif become a viral lifestyle brand?
And, what’ve bucket hats got to do with it?
If you’re reading this after 5pm, grab yourself an Aperol spritz and settle down - it’s time to find out just how this rural Italian drink rebranded pre-dinner drinks for a whole generation, and what your brand can learn from them, too.
From sunglasses, parasols and lightweight clothes, to beach balls, barbecue sets and outdoor games, we’ve got the perfect merchandise accompaniment to your summer beverage of choice.
Browse our summer merch collection now and make your brand a part of their summer memories today.
Aperol Spritz: it’s fruity. It’s bitter (in a good way - not like your ex). It’s orange.
ORANGE.
Typically, an Aperol spritz is made by mixing Aperol, prosecco, and a dash of soda water. It’s easy to make at home, refreshing, and super palatable for all summer occasions. It also has a relatively low alcohol level, making it a perfect summer staple for backyard BBQs and casual summer gatherings.
It’s the Gen Z version of Pimms, but orange.
However, enjoying an Aperol spritz on a lazy summer’s day has been around far longer than Gen Z themselves.
The idea of a ‘spritz’ started when Austrian soldiers who were stationed in the Veneto region of Northern Italy during the 19th century had to dilute the local wines with a splash (or, ‘spritz,’ in German) of water to make the wine palatable to them. This eventually evolved with the locals adding more bitter liqueurs to create more exciting and complex drinks.
Originally from Northern Italy, Aperol was created in 1919 by the Barbieri brothers, Luigi and Silvio. After the war, it became a popular drink drunk all over Italy.
But it was in the 1950s that the famous Aperol spritz recipe was born.
With a mixture of bitter and sweet oranges, rhubarb and botanicals mixed together with a low-alcohol liquor, the Aperol spritz became an Italian regional favourite.
In 2003, the Campari Group acquired Aperol, and with the powerhouse brand and their supercharged marketing efforts behind them, it quickly became one of the most prolific drinks of the summer.
Today, it’s still the number one cocktail in Italy, with over 20.7 million searches on Google alone in 2024.
Using their exceptional brand assets and their reputation as a summer staple, Aperol took over social media in the UK this summer with their viral Aperol bucket hat offering.
The offer: a limited-time deal where customers who bought a bottle of Aperol from Asda in the UK would get a free bucket hat.
This ‘popped off’ (some Gen Z slang for you), with the hat going viral on TikTok.
Promotional merch: 1, traditional marketing: 0.
The promo merch bucket hat worked perfectly for Aperol as a marketing strategy due to three key points:
You can’t deny that one of the biggest reasons Aperol is super successful is thanks to its distinctive orange colouring. It’s iconic. It looks good on Instagram. It’s a great colour to match with a tan. By utilising that in their bucket hat design, Aperol have created a photogenic viral summer masterpiece that’s simply too good to pass up.
And for the brand, it was a goldmine for UGC (user-generated content), which = free advertising and brand advocates reaching a potentially untapped audience - win-win.
When you think summer, you think Aperol, but you also think hat. So what better way to guarantee a foolproof merchandise strategy than by combining these two legendary pillars of the season?
People know that by donning the Aperol bucket hat, they’ll be instantly transported to an Italian veranda at golden hour for pre-dinner drinks (even if really, they’re stuck in the Asda car park in Stevenage on a rainy Thursday afternoon) - that’s the power of merch and excellent brand campaigns.
Plus, the fact that the hat was free and there was limited stock, the ‘scarcity’ effect comes into play. This is when a product is perceived as more valuable and sought after if there is a limited availability of it - our brains think, “Yes, I need this, it won’t be around forever.”
The fact that the hat was a free giveaway also leans into the reciprocity idea, where positive actions (such as being given a gift by a brand) lead to a reciprocated positive response (such as the customer purchasing Aperol again).
Read more: Build brand loyalty FAST using this one simple trick
Aperol’s viral bucket hat is a great example of a successful merchandise campaign. However, it’s also the perfect case study of how a brand has optimised a compelling, but simple, narrative, and transgressed their product offering to one that defines a season.
Aperol isn’t just selling you a drink; they’re selling you summer.
The sort of summers only found abroad. Where olives are gobbled like sweeties, and the last rays of the sun coat you in warmth and happiness.
But when you buy a bottle of Aperol, you’re not just buying a beverage, you’re buying a moment.
A moment of peace. A moment to savour the last ounce of a summer’s day. A moment before the world tips into darkness. It’s all about that simple act of coming together and sharing a drink - or, “L’unico. Per tutti” (the only one for all) as their newest campaign is called.
Aperol is tied to summer just like how Starbucks’ PSL (a pumpkin-spiced latte) owns autumn. It’s Italian culture.
And that’s because they’re selling a mood. Not a flavour. Not a scent. Not a taste (well, it’s not everything).
It’s the afterglow of a good day.
And thanks to exceptional social media marketing, with UGC from high-profile influencers and celebrities alike, Aperol has become the cool dude on the block that everyone wants to share a piece of once summer hits.
That’s Return on Emotion.
Alexander Kalchev, CEO and CCO, DDB Paris
Return on Emotion is all about turning every activation into an unforgettable, brand-defining moment fueled by powerful, emotional connections.
With 95% of purchase decisions driven by emotion, merchandise harnesses this insight to build meaningful connections that inspire loyalty and engagement.
You can read more about Return on Emotion over at Brand Revolution.
With the ‘orange wave’ of Aperol coating every bar and pub in the brand’s signature hue, no other brand has ever dominated our most popular season like this.
And they know it.
Aperol's orange is such a distinctive colour, and so different from any other drink, that it instantly signals those happy connections in your brain. It reminds you of when you last drank it - which, most likely, was during a past positive summer social occasion.
Plus, the colour ‘orange’ is said to signify energy, enthusiasm, happiness and optimism - all emotions the Aperol brand has in abundance.
Aperol’s marketing team really hit the jackpot when it came to distinctive brand assets. From website, merchandise to ads - if it’s orange, most will instantly recognise it as ‘Aperol’.
This has helped the brand stand out against its competitors, making it more memorable.
So, why a bucket hat?
Bucket hats are also a summer staple, but their popularity has soared recently thanks to Oasis reuniting (bucket hats are synonymous with Oasis, if you didn’t know (I didn’t)).
It’s Oasis' core, darling.
Originally created for Irish fishermen, most bucket hats are seen floating amongst a sea of people at summertime concerts and festivals rather than the high tides of the UK coastline.
In the 1980s, they gained popularity in the hip-hop scene, finding fans among LL Cool J and Run-D.M.C.
And as a piece of oasis-inspired band merch, the bucket has endured and expanded into mainstream fashion.
Read more: From Elvis to Kanye: Here’s everything you need to know about band merch
They’re now considered chic, stylish, as well as practical. Searches for bucket hats are up 275% - aka, fishermen are now trendy.
By pairing the two together - Aperol and bucket hats - Aperol’s marketing team has created the most summerish of summer merch that ever did summer.
Aperol haven’t just focused on the fact that they’re something you drink.
No, Aperol is summer. It’s Italy. It’s friendship. It’s happiness.
Don’t stay within the boundaries of your product when it comes to your marketing efforts.
How do you want people to interact with your product? How do you want them to feel when using it? Do you want them to associate something with it?
Decide what these are and highlight them in your marketing strategies moving forward.
Aperol is a distinctive brand. The bright orange is their signal of brand unity, used throughout their marketing. It symbolises an aesthetic cohesion that patents orange for summer. You see orange splashed across your socials and, even if it has nothing to do with Aperol, you assume it does.
That’s excellent branding.
Can you do the same with your brand? Do you have something distinctive that you can make your whole brand personality? If so, amplify it.
The thing is, however distinctive your brand, if it’s not associated with an emotion, it loses that lasting impact.
Aperol has that emotional resonance that their audience instantly understands. It’s not convoluted, it’s not unattainable. It’s an instant emotional connection - which lasts far longer than any other consumer touchpoint (apart from merch, of course).
When you buy Aperol, you’re getting a whole brand experience, not just a drink.
They’re a community. When you sip an Aperol, you’re a part of it.
Active online, consumers are able to connect with the brand away from the product.
When having a drink, customers can share a photo on their socials, integrating themselves into the brand narrative.
Aperol’s website is also full of recipes on how to make Aperol spritz at home, adding another facet to the brand experience.
Aperol even hosted their own event called “The Aperol Big Spritz Social”, which sold out within a week of it being announced. With an ‘Aperol orange’ canal, slides, carousel and DJ, it was the most Aperolist event that has ever been.
Maybe organising a big brand event isn’t on your agenda (or within your budget), but sharing content, and connecting with your audience outside of the boundaries of your product in a way that creates a 360° experience for them, should be.
Aperol is all about celebrating and socialising, and what do you need when you socialise in the sun? A sun hat, a parasol, some sunglasses...etc, etc. Merchandise helps to build those lasting connections for your brand beyond a single interaction.
Read more: Maximise your marketing budget with this foolproof ROI strategy
Whether you’re opting for an Aperol spritz, a Pimms, or just a refreshing glass of H2O at your next social event, we challenge you to keep your eyes peeled for some excellent branded merchandise.
From sunglasses, parasols and lightweight clothes, to beach balls, barbecue sets and outdoor games, we’ve got the perfect branded product accompaniment to your summer beverage of choice.
Browse our summer merch collection now and make your brand a part of their summer memories today.
P.s. Tried an Aperol spritz. 7/10 would order again.