Topo Chico | "Sabores Sounds" at Art Basel
The Challenge: In fall 2024, Topo Chico set out to increase regional awareness of Sabores — its bold, fruit-forward flavored sparkling water line — and meaningfully engage South Florida's "Truth Seeker" audience during Miami's marquee cultural moment: Art Basel. The brief: break through a saturated sponsorship landscape where brand activations compete aggressively for attention and foster genuine connection with new and existing fans.
The Opportunity: Rather than a traditional sponsorship or product sampling play, Nina developed the concept that became “Sabores Sounds” — a genre-blending EP created in collaboration with Miami indie record label Terrestrial Funk, led by DJ and label founder Daniel Edenburgh, known as "Brother Dan." Inspired by the vibrant, tropical flavors of Topo Chico Sabores and the energy of the city’s nightlife scene, the project featured original tracks from three emerging artist groups — putting creative expression, not brand messaging, at the center.
The Work: Nina orchestrated “Sabores Sounds” end-to-end — from creative development and artist alignment to event production and earned media strategy.
To anchor the EP’s global digital release, Topo Chico and Terrestrial Funk closed out Art Basel weekend with a free, all-night album release party at Gramps Getaway, a hidden-gem waterfront venue, featuring live performances from the EP artists, Sabores cocktails and exclusive merchandise.
Nina directed a multi-layered earned media strategy spanning Basel preview outreach, national EP seeding, talent interviews and post-event content distribution — inserting the brand into both local and national news feeds. Working closely with Daniel and key stakeholders throughout, Nina ensured the collaboration felt artist-led and culturally authentic rather than brand-driven.
The Impact: “Sabores Sounds” exemplified what it looks like when a brand earns its place in culture — blending taste, music and design into a cohesive, immersive experience that felt native to Miami's creative scene rather than imposed upon it.
The event drew more than 660 guests, with thousands of Sabores cans sampled — directly fueling product engagement and reinforcing the brand’s lifestyle positioning in a key growth market.
Coverage achieved 100% key message pull-through and neutral-to-positive sentiment, appearing in Forbes, Secret Miami, Time Out Miami, The Infatuation Miami, UPROXX, Bleeding Cool and Baller Alert.
As one of Art Basel’s standout activations, “Sabores Sounds” affirmed that a brand with a genuine point of view and a willingness to invest in creative collaboration can command attention — and earn cultural credibility — in even the most competitive environments.
