A Bold Night Out
Guinness
Issue 31 | June 2014
Agency
BBDO Singapore
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Ronald Ng Group Creative Director Primus Nair Copywriters Theophilues Tan Adlin Rosli Art Directors Douglas Goh Christie Way Qiu Jing Art Buyer Katherine Lian
Other Credits
Account Supervisor Joe Braithwaite Account Manager Fiona Huang
Date
September 2013
Background
As in many other parts of the world, the beer category in Singapore was in decline. For Guinness an added problem was its strong taste and appearance with many younger males preferring less challenging lager.
Arthur's Day, first introduced to Singapore in 2012, was a chance for young Singaporeans to reappraise the brand through music. The budget, however, was limited.
Idea
Looking back into history, Arthur Guinness seemed to have been a bold individual, defending his brewery with a pick-axe at one stage. 254 years later, choosing to drink Guinness could be construed a bold choice.
Going with the bold theme, Guinness in Singapore branded the Arthur's Day concert 'a bold night out'. No tickets were put on sale, however, and no free invites handed out. Instead Singaporeans were invited to test their boldness, with the boldest being invited to the party.
Three booths were set up, where passers-by were invited to shout 'To Arthur!' or to pour themselves a pint in public to demonstrate their boldness.
The stunts were filmed and turned into online videos inviting people who had not been near the booths to demonstrate their boldness to win tickets online.
Results
Within 3 weeks, the concert was a sell-out. Not only was Guinness able to reach a younger audience but the bold approach helped increase the brand's appeal to them. 1,759 people attended the gig (mirroring 1759, the year Arthur founded his brewery) and 90% were in the desired 18-34 demographic.
The event increased Guinness' Facebook community by 26% making it the largest Facebook community for an alcohol brand in Singapore.
The campaign generated PR worth SGD$1.3m, exceeding the total publicity generated throughout the entire preceding year.
All brand and consumption metrics increased by more than 25%, with many increasing more than 50%.
Our Thoughts
It has become a cliche´, but Confucius’s ancient dictum is vividly borne out by this super campaign. “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand.”
The trick today is to create ideas that actively involve people. It’s what Directory was established to celebrate, ideas that get people doing things. Sometimes clicking, sometimes liking, sometimes even buying products. Or, in this case, getting people shouting, cheering, celebrating and drinking.
In doing all of the above, what happened was a number of young Singaporeans shifted from being lager drinkers to Guinness drinkers. So this campaign didn’t just engage, it changed minds. It changed behaviours.
I can drink to that.