SABMiller
"Grolsch Choose Interesting"
In 2012, Grolsch Canada became the official beer of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and the presenting sponsor of the Discovery Award – a series within TIFF that showcases emerging Canadian filmmakers.
The strategy was to develop an integrated campaign to leverage the TIFF and "Discovery Series" sponsorship, support Grolsch's broader involvement with film and emerging filmmakers and position the brand as the beer of choice.
The target audience is defined as "Refiners" - independent minded, socially engaged connoisseurs of independent film, music, art and fine cuisine. And although Grolsch is established globally as a supporter of independent filmmakers, the brand is a relative newcomer to the up-and-coming film scene in Canada.
So the agency partnered with existing authorities in the space – Vice and Ion, which are two multi-channel media companies that target trendsetters and advocates for Canada's independent film, music, art and fashion communities.
It collaborated with Vice to produce "Canada's New Cinema" – a series of five long-format videos featuring select Canadian filmmakers, exploring their achievements behind the scenes, and providing an insider's look at the interesting journey that led them to the finished work. The videos included light Grolsch branding and tasteful product placement in order to reinforce the brand association.
The program also included in print and digital, focusing on Canadian artists and filmmakers. All content was leveraged across Vice's digital and print outlets and amplified through its social channels, including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, as well as via the artists own social networks. The content was also shared on Grolschfilmworks.com.
Working with Ion, the agency created editorial content showcasing various artists featured at the Grolsch Open House, a brand-hosted event that took place during TIFF. Grolsch was integrated into Ion's regular "Of the Month" feature online and in print, which covered the Open House event and included in-depth profiles of the artists involved. Additionally, a custom editorial article, titled "Navigating the Discovery Series," showcased the films and filmmakers. All content was leveraged across ION's social channels, including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
In a category with declining sales, the Grolsch "Choose Interesting" campaign helped drive a 20% year-over-year brand growth. The programs with Ion and Vice also generated 4.3 million impressions.
