The Campaign

In the 1700s, way before the term social entrepreneur existed, Arthur Guinness was already implementing the concept behind it. Today, the world famous stout he created, Guinness, continues to honor his legacy through the Arthur Guinness Fund. Each year, Guinness searches for six social entrepreneurs worthy of receiving a grant from the fund that they can use as capital. A further 150 participants are given training on how to plan, manage and successfully sustain a business. Since the advertisement of alcoholic drinks is restricted in Indonesia, a secular but Muslim-majority country, promoting the worthy corporate social responsibility program was challenging. Creative ways had to be found to go around the stigma attached by the media and the public to anything deemed funded by “beer money.” But by bringing in a credible third party partner, the agency was able to effectively approach the media with the inspiring story of Sir Arthur Guinness — a philanthropist, visionary and a campaigner — and generate outstanding outcomes in terms of participation and coverage.

The Brief

The main objective of the campaign was to generate media and public interest in the Arthur Guinness Fund program in order to draw in several applications from social entrepreneurs for participation in the contest. The program conducts an annual search for social entrepreneurs who will be given training on how to properly plan for and manage a business that gives back to the community. Six of the best proposals will receive start-up capital from the Arthur Guinness Fund.

Results

As a result of all this, the program was able to draw in a better-than-expected 750 participants and generate publicity worth Rp 5 billion, including through two nationally televised talk shows on Metro TV, a leading television station for news: 1. Economic Challenge by MetroTV for 60 minutes on July 11, 2011 2. 8eleven by MetroTV for 30 minutes on July 11, 2012 This is the first time that Guinness has been able to penetrate TV, the 1st tier media in Indonesia.

Execution

• Campaign Kick off: A press conference was held and supplemented with story pitches made directly to media. These activities highlighted the global scale of the campaign, portrayed Arthur Guinness as a visionary philanthropist, and promoted the success stories of the previous year’s winners. • Qualification Cities Roadshow: The workshop activities where 150 participants received training of planning and managing a business were highlighted, while showcasing the impact of the campaign to the respective communities where the previous winners operated in. • Final Stage: Focus was shifted to the stories of the top 20 finalists, from which six winners were to be selected, specifically on how they used the knowledge gained from the training workshop they participated in to build a winning business plan. • Awarding Ceremony: The symbolic ceremony highlighted the profile of the community that would benefit from the program that the Arthur Guinness Fund would give capital for.

The Situation

Indonesia is a secular but Muslim-majority country where the sale, consumption and promotion of alcoholic drinks are highly regulated. The high cost of alcoholic drinks, resulting from high rates of government taxes, has also led to a widespread illegal homemade alcohol industry that has led to several deaths. Therefore the stigma attached to alcohol has made people skeptical of using "beer money" as start-up capital.

The Strategy

Building credibility was key in running the competition successfully. The agency therefore brought in the British Council, which promotes the United Kingdom’s arts and education, to lend credibility to the program. In addition, the following strategies were employed: Take the Arthur Guinness Fund away from Guinness. A key communication objective was to show media that this was an authentic CSR campaign by highlighting the success of the previous beneficiaries and the program’s success in various countries across the globe. Personal approach was used with media, resulting in widespread coverage throughout the course of the campaign and not just after the grant recipients were announced. Sustaining the momentum. Part of the strategy is to ensure high interest throughout the year with regular updates and invites for media to witness the progress of the fund recipients while continuously feeding news and features for publication.