Case study · Alpina Watches · Route du Rhum 2026

Alpina × Route du Rhum

We built the setup.
The creators did the rest.

Three days in Saint-Malo at the heart of the Route du Rhum with Alpina, the race’s official timekeeper. Four creators, one co-host and a villa designed for content creation.

Saint-Malo · 21–23 October 2026 · Brand activation & influence

The numbers

4 + 1

Creators + co-host

Days of immersion

2 + 2

Immersion videos + brand films

The context

Being the official timekeeper isn’t enough to be part of the story.

Alpina times the Route du Rhum. The challenge: let people experience the brand from the inside, through creators who tell the story of the race in their own voice, not in the voice of an ad.

The setup

Everything is designed so the creators can produce freely.

The villa

A villa in Saint-Malo for the whole group. A base camp where everyone lives together, and a set ready to film.

The branding

Alpina is present without being pushed: table settings, printed menus, visuals and branded objects woven into the setting.

The dinner

A dinner cooked by a private chef at the villa, with the creators and the Alpina team at the same table.

The experiences

A trip out at sea, the race village, Rhum Inside Mer, meeting the race management and skipper Eric Péron. Every moment becomes content.

The scenography

Light, setting, timing: every sequence is prepared so the camera only has to follow.

The centrepiece

A co-host between the brand and the creators.

Thibault Magnin

Thibault Magnin spent the three days with the group. He hosts, keeps the energy up, links with the Alpina team and carries the brand’s voice without breaking the flow. The creators didn’t have a brief to execute: they had someone to talk to. It’s the part Alpina valued most.

View his Instagram

The casting

Casting is half the work.

Four profiles chosen for their world, not just their audience. Different tones, the same drive to show what’s real.

Martin Vekemans

@martin_vek

[ONE-LINE PROFILE]

Huugoch

[HANDLE]

[ONE-LINE PROFILE]

Sharl

@sharl.crb

[ONE-LINE PROFILE]

Marius Brosset

@marius_brst

[ONE-LINE PROFILE]

Thibault Magnin

@thib_magnin

Co-host

The creator × brand bond

Creators who leave attached to the brand.

Three days living alongside the Alpina team: shared meals, picking their watch at the stand, meeting the brand’s skipper. The bond wasn’t written in a brief. It was built on site.

What was produced