The Brief

The world's biggest beer brands are fighting for share of mouth in South East Asia. Caught somewhere in the middle is the distributor. And the distributor is ultimately the key to success. If the distributor loves you, consumers will too. So what does a beer brand do if it can't outspend its competitors? What does it do if it can't afford to constantly equip the distributor with promotions and sales incentives? How does it support the distributors and enable them to influence the outlets?

Creative Execution

Coasters are mostly invisible in bars. Often, you'll find a Heineken pint on a Hoegaarden coaster. The branding stopped mattering at some point in time and the only people who care about it are the distributors. Not only does the Corona Calendar give the audience a good reason to crack a Corona and 'Let the world wait', it also gives the distributor 365 ideas to throw a party or run a promotion with Corona. Parties draw crowds. Crowds make money.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Distributors want more than just bunting, branding and glasses. They're constantly looking for ideas that help outlet owners draw crowds into their pubs, bars and restaurants. Often these ideas are based on seasonal themes. But what if we gave people a reason to raise a Corona every day, instead of every few months? The Corona Calendar equips distributors with a reason to throw a Corona party every single day of the year. Now, there's always an excuse to have a beer. And with all the artwork at their fingertips from our calendar and digital toolkit, there's no excuse not to.

Results

The Corona Calendar has been enthusiastically received across the region. A total of 14 countries have adopted the idea and Corona has enjoyed an unprecedented 52.34% growth in sales in Q1 2013, compared to sales in Q1 2012. More importantly, engagement has increased dramatically and contact with distributors is now a daily occurrence rather than an occasional event.