About

Led by Michelin Gourmand recognized barbecue pit master Matt Horn, Horn Barbecue is a West-Coast collection of restaurants in the San Fancico Bay Area with a cult-like following. Since we crafted the entire brand strategy for its holding company—AH2—we saw a unique opportunity to advance the brand experience by pitching a wine-paring dinner experience in collabrtion between Horn Barbecue and Comptoir wines. The unified partnership of two California masters at the pinnacle of their crafts—James Beard-nominated Chef Matt Horn, "The Future of Barbecue," and David Castleberry, San Francisco's Rising Star wine maker and Sommelier—proving that hospitality is a holistic experience meant to be shared. For one night, guests who were mutually unfamiliar with each brand had half a dozen hours to get acquainted on how barbecue and wine connect people and leave them with lasting memories.

The Bust Down

Challenge

There was no brief. We saw the opportunity and pitched it ourselves — a collaboration between two of California's most celebrated craftsmen that neither brand had thought to explore.

Approach

We pitched a collaboration with legendary San Francisco sommelier-turned-winemaker, David Castleberry, to create an immersive food and beverage experience pairing barbecue and wine. The first dinner in the series allowed us to test engagement, conversion, and attendance to inform production leading up to the brand launch, slated for August 2025.

Results

8.7% increase in reach in 10 days
100% event capacity (sold out)
Significant RSVP surge attributed to creative campaign

Email Marketing

We carried the same editorial and cinematic approach over to email content, with the only difference being increased messaging. AH2’s email subscribers included thousands of devout followers who were ready to get involved with anything related to Horn Barbecue events at a moments notice.

Content Strategy

Informed by the power that editorial-layout design has to captivate attention, combined with bold, cinematic imagery to reflect the depth of craft barbecue, we allowed this duo to steer most of the visual conversation. Our secondary focus was set on making the content feel inspiring so the user would want to discover more, rather than imposing large amounts of copy on to the user.