Guinness’ St. Patrick’s Day Proposition

Guinness with Taylor

Overview

In 2008, Taylor conceived Proposition 3-17, the drive to make St. Patrick’s Day a national holiday, for client partner Diageo and specifically the Guinness brand. The success of the through-the-line campaign led to its renewal in 2009, but this time without the benefit of above-the-line support. No problem — only solutions — and so Taylor set its sights this year on supporting the brand’s marketing goal: present the classic Irish brew to a more youthful demographic (21-29 year old males) and reclaim “ownership” of a key consumption period that has become cluttered with competition.

Tactics

Taylor’s Digital & Emerging Media Group, in conjunction with our Knowledge Center, developed an engaging Social Media strategy rooted in research-based insights. Because Guinness is a brand people love to talk about, the focus was on social networks. Facebook was identified as a ‘target rich’ destination so a fan page and widget were conceived by Taylor to encourage conversation and engagement. Additionally, a variety of videos were created and hosted on YouTube to develop a deeper and more relevant connection between the brand and consumers.

Taylor worked closely with the brand to craft a strategic communications plan that was consistent across all channels, leading to a stronger, more unified call to action for consumers. This included delivery of key messages regarding the quality of the product across mainstream media outlets such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Today Show, MSNBC’s Morning Joe and USA Today as well as in bars.

Results

Taylor’s efforts also extended to consumer generated media, with demographically relevant blogs generating highly favorable content from brand evangelists. This ‘direct to consumer’ approach in conjunction with traditional media efforts led to significant brand exposure and palpable buzz during the critical St. Patrick’s Day time frame.