A billboard that offers free beer?! #ProbablyTheBest

FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Guerilla Marketing lets you have interaction with your target audience in innovative ways. These campaigns are exciting, unconventional, and not expensive. They let you get creative and interactive with the conventional marketing collaterals you see every day. Keep reading to learn how this billboard in London got British people flocking to the venue back in 2015. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

A billboard that offers free beer?! #ProbablyTheBest Billboards are some of the best places for creative marketing campaigns. Despite the rise of digital marketing platforms today, brands still use billboards to create some interesting and striking ads that get people talking! One recent example of a billboard that got everyone’s attention was from Danish beer brand Carlsberg. What made their billboard stand out? BEER. It served beer. … and it’s FREE! This definitely got so many beer-lovers extra excited. The billboard was installed in East London with the tagline placed front and center. “Probably the best poster in the world.” A beer tap was attached to it and allowed people to get a glass of beer. Carlsberg used this as a way to show everyone (excluding minors, of course) how their beer tasted and left a lasting impression. It was also a way to make them one of the top-of-mind beer brands. This 2015 marketing stunt got so much attention from people passing by. It also encouraged beer drinkers to choose Carlsberg. This also exhibited experiential advertising, which is a strategy that looks for innovative ways to market a brand to its consumers and find a way to get them engaged and involved. According to senior brand manager Dharmesh Rana: “We want to get the Carlsberg brand in front of as many beer drinkers as possible. To do this, we have to think differently with our approach and can’t just rely on great TV advertising. ‘If Carlsberg did posters’ is one of many ideas that we’ll be developing over the course of the year to ensure that beer drinkers up and down the country see the Carlsberg brand in a new and engaging way alongside TV.” People were definitely lining up just to get a glass. If you love beer, why wouldn’t you, right? Some even took pictures and shared it all over social media using the hashtag #ProbablyTheBest! They made such a buzz on Twitter, gaining 3 million impressions! Carlsberg worked with Fold7, a creative agency in London, to execute the campaign. The agency’s founder, Ryan Newey, said: ‘‘If Carlsberg did’ is an iconic property. Our challenge was to take something that is already so well known and bring it to life in a way that will engage today’s consumer. Our ambition was to create the world’s best poster, and one that serves beer could certainly fit the bill.” The billboard was a part of Carlsberg’s massive advertising campaign. It helped the brand increase its 2015 sales by 20% and was seen to be the fastest growth among the top beer companies in the world that same year. The campaign even reached 60 million people across all media platforms. It was recognized in the 2016 FAB Awards, winning the FAB Award in the Posters & OOH: Creative & Effectiveness Category. It also received Silver in the 2015 Clio Awards in the Out of Home category. Using Carlsberg as an example of getting their target audience engaged, you can also find different and appropriate ways to promote your product or service! In your marketing plan, you can incorporate interactive physical ads or online landing pages and websites that encourage people to participate. Carlsberg’s guerrilla marketing campaign is a great example because they let people experience their product firsthand. It also helped them get the attention they needed through word of mouth and the power of social media. With the number of beer drinkers in London that were lucky enough to experience this campaign, it’s impossible to keep it a secret. They’d run to a free-flowing tap the first chance they get! Now, who’s craving a glass of ice-cold beer? Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerilla Marketing! Do you want to learn about Barbie becoming an inspirational symbol for young girls thanks to this guerilla marketing campaign by Mattel Inc.? See it on next week’s Gorillas of the Guerilla Marketing!