How We Engraved 120 Dos Equis Pint Glasses in 2 Hours: A case study
When Dos Equis needed a high-impact, rapid brand activation to drive awareness for their seasonal flavors in Austin, Texas, they had a massive operational hurdle: they needed to capture the attention of busy H-E-B shoppers, incentivize a purchase, and deliver a premium keepsake—all within a strict, fast-moving time window.
The challenge: Some live event activations focus on the “romance” aspect of the experience. Planners are often forced to choose between a beautiful guest experience or a fast-moving line. And to that we say—why not both?
Here is how Handsome Ink bypassed the standard event bottleneck entirely, delivering 120 personalized, custom-engraved pint glasses in just a two-hour window—completely stress-free and without breaking a sweat (and you know we’re not kidding around—we’re in Texas!)
The Strategy: Spotting the Local Gaps
For a high-volume beer brand activation, it’s best to understand the industry standard for items-per-hour engraving. At Handsome Ink, we understand that working slowly can create a bottleneck (pun intended). To scale this activation for Dos Equis, we built a strategy around three specific operational pillars:
Offering multiple script styles
Not everyone will want a loopy flourished cursive on their pint glass if you know what I mean. To solve this, we utilized our proprietary script styles: “Danger” and “Dapper.”
Danger offers a bold, structured, block letter.
Dapper delivers a clean, sharp, modern script.
A personalized pint glass using “Danger”
Both styles are optimized for rapid execution and maximum legibility on a sweating pint glass, ensuring the Dos Equis branding stayed front and center
Curious about these script styles? Read more about Danger and Dapper here.
A personalized pint glass using “Dapper”
setting up Personalization best-practices
To hit a pace of one custom glass every 60 seconds, we worked with the on-site team to set clear parameters: personalizations were limited to a single word or three initials. This kept the line moving seamlessly while still giving every shopper a deeply personal keepsake. Bonus: we can work with your team to set these parameters ahead of your event or stay aligned to your pre-existing vision.
The Execution
Pre-Event Prep:
Pint glasses are a good match with engraving because they have thick glass. Engraving projects allow us to fill in the engraved glass with a gold or silver wax fill. Many event engravers rely on silver or gold metallic wax fills (frequently called "rub-n-buff") to make their lettering stand out. While this looks great on a display bottle of wine, these chemical fills are not food-safe and should never be used on actual drinkware.
Because guest safety is key, we chose to execute a "blind engraving" instead. We utilized a thicker, specialized burr bit to drill deeper, giving more defined grooves into the glass. This guaranteed that the engraving remained highly visible while catching the light, without relying on toxic chemical fillers.
On-Site Logistics & Setup:
Some brand ambassadors haven’t worked with live artists before, which can lead to confusion on the floor. We arrived on-site early to sync with the client’s brand ambassadors and get the entire staff on the same page before the doors opened. They greeted the shoppers, explained the engraving process, and helped them choose their initials before they reached the artist's table. This kept the queue organized and frictionless.
Live High-Velocity Engraving:
And all the the hard work ahead of the event, allows for the live engraving portion to be expedited and allow a brisk workflow during peak hours. The artist focuses 100% on execution using battery-powered micro-drills (no noisy cords or outlets required), while an ambassador or assistant manages the hand-off and guest greetings, meaning the line never stops moving.
The Results & ROI
The Metrics: .
Total Pieces Engraved: 120 glasses in 2 hours
Throughput Rate: 1 completed keepsake every 60 seconds
Retention rate: 100%. Unlike paper flyers or cheap plastic swag, guests don't throw away heavy, custom-engraved glassware with their own name on it.
The Qualitative Win:
Not only did guests take home a keepsake, but the performance of engraving itself was enough for shoppers to stop and engage in the activation (a big deal for H-E-B shoppers when there’s so much to engage with). The sound and visual of an artist working real-time draws a crowd, keeping people at the brand's booth much longer than adjacent tasting-only setups. Plus more often than not, it means guests record the process and tag the brand (win for you) or take a picture of their engraved keepsake for social media (yay for your social presence).
Key Takeaways for Austin Event & Corporate Planners looking for an high-volume activation
Find the right partner: Work with an artist that has experience servicing high-volume events if that’s what you’re looking for. Don’t know where to start in finding the perfect partner? We wrote all about it in our latest post.
Keep it Zero-Dry-Time: Unlike paint or ink pens which can smudge in a guest’s hand, engraving is instantly permanent and ready to hold a cold drink. And if you’re not into glass, we highly recommend foiling as well! Read more about foiling as a great activation process here.
Consider Brand Alignment: Choose an artist who can offer multiple script styles to align with your brand voice and multiple aesthetic tastes.
Book Your Next Austin Experiential Activation
And if you still have questions, we have answers. But really—we partner with corporate events in the Austin Area (think the Austin Convention Center, Iconic hotels like Hotel ZaZa and and your favorite venue’s favorite venue 😉) to bring your live engraving experiential activation to life in Austin and beyond. Love H-E-B and all things Texas? We’d love to find a way to bring your Texas event to life.