Results and Effectiveness

Increased perception of ‘Guinness as a modern brand’ – Target + 10%. Achieved + 19% Increased intention to try Guinness especially among fence-sitters – Target +5%. Achieved +12% Used Guinness Facebook page to recruit and engage younger drinkers to be fans – Target 30%. Achieved +51% Total of 4,800 pixels painted.

Creative Execution

At City-Link mall (the venue for Arthur’s day concert), we went beyond the usual touchscreens, QR codes and augmented reality. Guinness successfully executed a world’s first outdoor billboard painted in real-time using social media! Our Facebook fans (and their friends) were our virtual painters. Via a FB app users could claim a random pixel. Then via a webcam link in the FB app, could see the “spider-plotter” machine on-site at City-Link mall instantaneously move to the assigned pixel number and spray paint one of 4,800 pixels in real-time on a 7m x 9m canvas! Live streaming on Guinness’s Facebook page let users engage with the on-site happenings in real-time. Finally, the once blank canvas unveiled the 2 biggest stars performing at the upcoming Arthur’s Day concert.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Among younger drinkers below 40 years old, larger beers are far more popular that stout. Guinness is no exception and is seen as a brand for uncles and older men who are outdated & less aspirational. We needed to change this perception and make Guinness modern again. Young Singaporean larger drinkers are social animals who are extremely tech savvy. To get them talking you need to give them a unique experience, something they have never seen before. Our strategy was to mobilize our existing fans on social media and leverage them to generate buzz both online & offline. Linked to our annual Arthur’s Day concert, we decided to ‘Paint The Town Black’.