IT'S SYDNEY TIME

TitleIT'S SYDNEY TIME
BrandSYDNEY BEER CO.
Product / ServiceSYDNEY BEER CO. SUMMER PRICE INDEX
EntrantH/COMMERCE Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation H/COMMERCE Sydney, AUSTRALIA
PR RED HAVAS Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production HAVAS AUSTRALIA Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Tom Hoskins h/commerce Executive Creative Director
Sionen Adijans h/commerce Art Director
Aaron McCann h/commerce Digital Designer
Simon Porter h/commerce Managing Director
Sarah Calver h/commerce Senior Account Manager
Adam Freedman Red Havas Practice Head
Janete Sampaio Red Havas Senior Account Manager
Laura Durand Red Havas Senior Account Executive
William Turner Red Havas Content Manager
Joseph Hong Red Havas Web Developer
Beau Simmons Havas Content Director
Anna Francis Havas Agency Producer
Aaron McCann h/commerce Creative / Digital Designer
William Turner Havas Blvd Content Manager
Joseph Hong Havas Blvd Web Developer
Ben Pride Havas Blvd Video Producer
Bob Seary Havas Blvd Photographer

Why is this work relevant for Integrated?

The ‘It’s Sydney Time’ campaign used multiple touch-points (and channels) that predominantly feature in both the pre-organising and drinking occasion repertoire of Sydney beer lovers. The campaign had to seamlessly connect across PR, Activation, POS, Mobile, Digital Display and Social Media, ensuring that a 18 month old brand with almost zero awareness became one of the hottest beers of the summer.

Background

Sydney is a city where many people love beer. During summer, the city becomes the perfect back drop for imbibing in a cold one at any one of its multiple iconic outdoor venues. That said, the local beer market is controlled by just two major (multi-billion dollar) corporations, making it almost impossible for a small independent brewer with zero awareness to cut through. So, Sydney Beer Co. (SBC), a brand just 18 months old with limited resources, needed an integrated campaign that would take on the beer behemoths, and ultimately make SBC synonymous with the Sydney summer, influencing consumer decision-making at the ‘moment of truth’, the beer tap. The task before us was to increase sales and awareness of a beer no-one has heard of; in places everyone loves.

Describe the creative idea

In the lead-up to the most lucrative time of the year for any beer brand, SBC encouraged Sydneysiders to champion a beer inspired by (and brewed in) their own city. The ‘It’s Sydney Time’ platform was born - a simple catch-cry (bar call) to capture the audiences imagination while in the midst of summer’s best drinking conditions. To succeed across a highly fragmented path-to-purchase, we needed to bring awareness to multiple channels typically familiar to our audience. Having a fraction of the competitions budget ensured our outside-of-venue/drive-to-store thinking needed to be imminently PR-able. Inside venue, we needed take on the beer promotion POS typically plastered all everywhere by creating a participatory experience that would not only reward a customers interation with the brand thrist, but also their thirst. Ultimately our integrated approach needed to turn summertime into ‘Sydney Time’.

Describe the strategy

Our campaign was aimed primarily at beer drinkers aged 18-34, who enjoy socialising and the great outdoors. Within this audience we found two subsets; The first, local Sydney drinker; who takes pride in their world famous city and it’s best venues. The second, the ‘Sydney’ millennial, a consumer steadily drinking less beer YOY, but becoming more discerning about what they drink, where and when. With increasing restrictions around marketing for alcohol brands, we had to explore activities and tactics that would appeal to our target. This meant our strategic approach had to embrace their low interest in traditional media, and explore their likelihood to embrace, advocate and support newer disruptive ways to interact with a brand – including ways they might purchase. Our conclusion was a successful approach would need PR, Activation, POS, Mobile, Digi-Display and Social Media to all work in concert during the 100+ days of Sydney summer.

Describe the execution

To ensure our campaign endured a long Sydney summer, a multi-phased approach to push brand interaction and product preference was undertaken. First, a recruitment drive for a new role at SBC Head Office: Chief-Clock-Off-Officer (CCOO) - a new staff member to lead our ‘Sydney Time’ mantra by switching on ‘Out-Of-Office’ and visiting local venues talk business (grab a beer). They would also front ‘Beer Garden Weekend Forecasts’ helping drinkers decide where best to enjoy the sun and a ‘Sydney’. The successful candidate was Australian TV celebrity and influencer, Danny Clayton. Then, to continue the narrative, and with Sydney bracing itself for the hottest summer on record, SBC ‘Summer Price Index’ was introduced - as the temperature went up, the beer price came down. Supported by staff On-Premise and POS, patrons monitored the ‘Index’ via smartphone, locking in discounts when the temperature was at its peak – the maximum being 49%OFF.

List the results

‘It’s Sydney Time’ became the most talked about beer promotion of summer, gaining 130+ pieces of media coverage and a staggering 74,039,872 mentions in local and international media (Australia, USA, NZ & UK). Highlights included News.com.au, Triple M (Radio), Business Insider, GQ, Daily Mail, The Independent and many more. The campaign secured 19 new venues and retailers, a major win for an independent brewer. Product sales increased by over 18% at participating venues, which are directly attributed to the campaign. The CCOO recruitment drive generated 17,000 searches, resulting in 90 job applications. The SBC website received unprecedented traffic, with an increase of 300% during the campaign, compared to previous traffic. The “Beer Weather Forecast” video content reached more than 195,000 consumers, contributing to a 15% increase in Facebook fans and 16% increase in Instagram followers. Overall, return on media investment was over 4,360% on every dollar spent for the campaign.

Links

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