Guinness 250th Anniversary Celebrations
Brief:
2009 marked the 250th Anniversary of the Guinness Brand, with celebrations peaking on Arthur’s Day, the 24th September. The marketing and PR campaign was divided into four distinct phases, each with a different objective; drive awareness of the 250th year, drive participation in the Guinness Signature campaign, build anticipation and create a sense of celebration around Arthur’s Day and celebrate the philanthropic legacy of Arthur Guinness, by co-creating the Arthur Guinness Fund with celebrities and consumers. WHPR’s brief was to develop a fully integrated campaign, working with local and global agencies and brand team, to drive awareness of and participation in the various phases of the 250 celebrations. Done correctly, this would result in increased affinity, recruitment and conversion to Guinness.
Solution:
Our cross functional marketing team made a commitment at the outset of the campaign to forget about individual disciplines and focus purely on how best to deliver on the activity goal. We exploited the existing 250 campaign elements, whilst also taking the lead by generating bespoke PR activation, which was rolled out across other marketing disciplines. We developed two way conversations with consumers via exclusive content and 250 updates with bloggers, on GUINNESS 250 facebook page, across relevant forums and other social network platforms.
We leveraged global celebrity and artist endorsement of Arthur’s Day and sourced local celebrity endorsement of the Guinness Signature campaign to help build participation and support among media, consumers and publicans. We maximised existing GUINNESS sponsorships (Galway Races, Punchestown) and relationships to build momentum and participation in the Guinness Signature Campaign.
Driving footfall to the pub and making the pub the focal point for the collation of signatures was a key component of the campaign and was clearly and simply communicated to the public with a very clear call to action.
The PR team took the lead in co-ordinating all media relations activity and press office management around Arthur’s Day and other elements of the 250 campaign. WHPR engaged with key media and bloggers regularly by offering them opportunities to interview artists and offering information on Arthur’s Day ‘hot off the press’.
From the outset, the Arthur’s Day PR messaging ensured all consumers (not just music lovers) throughout the country felt they could and should be part of the build up and the global raising of a Guinness to the 24th September.
We led with strategic input into the management of the message around the Guinness 250 live TV Ad, which took place on New Years Eve at St James Gate. We recommended this activity to ensure that this brand activity was not seen to be self-congratulatory but rather be seen as a thank you from GUINNESS to all consumers that helped to establish the Arthur Guinness Fund.
