Over the years the stout brand has built strong ties with rugby through a range of sponsorships, and its association with the celebration of Ireland’s patron saint is well-established.
‘Made of more’ is the brand’s current global positioning. It has been brought to life in a variety of ways, from last year’s stylish ‘Sapeurs’ ad through to videos commemorating rugby’s finest moments and key figures.
Guinness’ social strategy focuses heavily on film, but not everything works. The most popular video under the Diageo-owned brand’s Guinness Amplify music initiative has achieved just 11,200 views, despite launching last July.
79% of online chat about Guinness, in relation to brand preference, was positive. Commenters indicated that Guinness is their beer of choice when socialising, watching sport or celebrating. They also identified Guinness with the city of Dublin and an Irish identity.
41% of conversation relating to Murphy’s centred on its taste. The over-whelming majority of commentary was positive, with many commentators appreciative of the sweet, ‘caramel-esque’ flavour and creamy texture. Several drinkers directly compared it to Guinness, with not many able
to easily separate them.
Social Media Reputation (SMR) score
November Guinness Europe launched a series of rugby videos on YouTube, celebrating the successes of Shane Williams, Jonny Wilkinson and the Munster team of 1978, the only Irish side to beat the All Blacks. They attracted more than 3m views in three months.
December Guinness introduced the Brewers Project on YouTube, following September’s launch of Dublin Porter and West Indies Porter. The video, viewed 1.1m times, outlines the journey of the creation of the new bottled beers and links to In Pursuit of More, a site designed to bring consumers closer to the Guinness brand.
January The brand ramped up its social campaign #BeerOfMore, collaborating with pop-up Disappearing Dining Club to create a variety of recipes and cocktails, including Black Velvet (half Prosecco, half Guinness), Guinness Bread and Guinness ice cream. The videos attracted more than 75,000 views.
February 50 Shades of Grey actor Jamie Dornan took part in a Q&A on Twitter ahead of the release of the film. ‘#AskJamieDornan’ led
to unexpected promotion for the black stuff, when he said that "the people and the Guinness" are what makes him love Ireland. It attracted 900-plus retweets and more than 2600 favourites.
Stout brands' share of chat
Produced from human analysis of 2500 pieces of user-generated content (UGC) from 13 January to 18 February 2015
