The brand

Guinness has a rich history from their humble beginnings in Dublin to becoming an international brand and the largest brewery in the world. At present, Guinness is sold in over 150 countries and 1 million glasses are enjoyed daily around the world.
 

The challenge

Diageo sought to appoint a lead European Digital agency that was flexible enough to turn things around at pace. 

Although Guinness had a stronghold in the market, the beer industry has been slow to respond to changes in lifestyles and attitudes alongside an overreliance on males. They wanted to move towards inclusiveness, popularity and scale of ‘extraordinary beer for everyone’ to broaden the brand footprint.

Being a brand of firsts - the chosen agency would need to be bold and innovative and have this ingrained into their culture.
 

The Creativebrief process

Diageo sought an agency to bring to life Guinness’ global strategy at a campaign level for Europe. A key priority was to be able to capitalise on the brand’s Rugby Six Nations association, to further own the rugby occasion in culture and drive to conversion.

Using our extensive network of agencies, we compiled a list of suitable agencies to submit the RFI and based on responses and capabilities, we further narrowed the agency shortlist to go through to the Chemistry round. The client was looking for knowledge and a true passion for the beer industry as the agencies talked through creds and relevant experience. This also presented the opportunity for Diageo to meet the people and culture behind each agency and see their different ways of working.

The 3 successful agencies that were considered a good match progressed to the strategy workshop round, meeting again with the client team to get further insights into the inner workings of the Guinness brand and the team’s insights, to support their preparation for the final presentation.

Following this session, the agencies submitted their responses to the brief in a final presentation to the client.
 

The result

We Are Social were appointed as Guinness’ digital agency for the European campaign. Their forward-thinking attitude lead them to be the ideal choice to manage the social media business for the brand’s sponsorship of the Six Nations.
 

To find out more how Creativebrief better connects brands and agencies, please get in touch today on +44 (0)20 7478 8200 or email [email protected]