The Campaign

A group of genuine Kiwi blokes carry out an elaborate plan to pull off the greatest beer prank of all time by plumbing their friend's house with beer and it all gets captured on camera. The idea, conceived by Saatchi and Saatchi and TUI's marketing team, was aimed to penetrate the highly competitive and crowded New Zealand beer market. However, at Porter Novelli New Zealand we believe 'viral' doesn't just happen, but stems from an exceptional idea, good planning and a big helping hand to get noticed. Not just noticed here but noticed around the world. The strategy was to secure international attention in order to capture our local target audience. We used Porter Novelli's international to seed the content and pitch to media in their markets, while our local consultants did the same in New Zealand. Starting and maintaining editorial and social media momentum was crucial. This approach worked successfully and much of the offshore conversation and initial 'buzz' around the video, as it proceeded to go viral globally, was whether or not it was the work of a beer company. The video took off and the 317 million global media impressions we secured drove video views and social media sharing, making it the most-watched New Zealand-produced video in 2013, and shared 51,000 times by fans on Facebook in 48 hours. You could say job done.

The Brief

Get 23 to 29 year-old Kiwi men talking about this video before above-the-line activity started. Secure media coverage international which would lead local coverage. Secure one million views and create buzz around the prank plus mainstream media coverage. We believed the job was achievable with the right strategy that utilised our international network.

Results

The YouTube video racked up more than a million hits in the first 24 hours and secured 51,000 Facebook 'shares' in the first two days. It was the most watched New Zealand-produced video in 2013 and generated 33 pieces of coverage in New Zealand with a total reach of 4.3 million people. To date 8 million people have seen it, in 224 countries. In terms of media coverage, the story generated more than 317 million online media page impressions globally and the pranksters were interviewed on TV programmes from Melbourne toLA. It generated 43 items of coverage in Australia reaching 13.9 million people, 14 in the USA reaching nearly 71 million worldwide and 10 in the UK reaching 219 million globally. Total international coverage stands at 104 pieces with a combined total reach of 315.8 million.

Execution

We created pitch material and engaged our international network. Emphasis was placed on theUK, North America and Australia, regions that typically shape the English-language,human-interest story agenda. The unbranded video was placed on YouTube and on the first day of the campaign, was pitched to media as per our strategy. Our international teams pitched extensively on the first day resulting in the prank featuring on theUK's Daily Mail website and Huffington Post, which labelled it 'possibly the best prank ever'.From there, we continued pitching to outlets that ran it and linked to the video such as Buzzfeed,which labelled it 'the most epic prank of all time', USA Today, The Mirror Online, The Sun Online and more than 100 other media globally. Then, 48 hours after the video was posted, we again approached New Zealand media and given the international attention, suddenly the locals were interested.

The Situation

TUI operates in a crowded, highly competitive market. The brand faces continual pressure to differentiate itself and become less reliant on previous marketing campaigns. The brand's targets were Kiwi men aged between 23 and 29. A concept, 'Beer Plumber', was developed for TUI by Saatchi & Saatchi, based around having a bunch of lads plumb their mate's house with beer and capturing it on video. Our brief was simple: We want New Zealand media to cover our prank. Get our video noticed.Secure a million views to help create buzz around it before the 'Beer Plumber' advertising kicks off.

The Strategy

In a nutshell, the strategy was to lead with international coverage in order to capture our local target audience. Starting and maintaining editorial and social media momentum was crucial. Seed the YouTube video quickly with international beer websites, media, bloggers and comedy and general interest websites. Use our international offices so we could conduct 24-hour media outreach for several days to drive views of the YouTube clip. Pitch the prank to high-traffic international media outlets who would value a quirky story coming out of New Zealand. This would all drive local media interest in New Zealand and in turn, drive local traffic to the video.This approach worked successfully and much of the offshore conversation and initial 'buzz' around the video, as it proceeded to go viral globally, was whether or not it was the work of a beer company.