January 01, 2011

Stella takes Brits for a ride

The Offer: Stella Artois offered select London pub visitors the chance to participate in a series of scenes produced for a promotion around its Stella Artois Black beer, recently released in the UK. Six hundred selected entrants showed up with a friend at a requested time and were taken by chauffeur in a 1960s Citroen DS sports car toward an unknown destination to become part of a French New Wave-inspired scene that developed around them.

The Data: Participants could enter the contest by filling out an entry card upon purchasing a Stella Black beer at participating bars. It collected demographic information including e-mail addresses. Mother London developed the “Stella Black: The Night Chauffeur” campaign. The entry period ran October 14 — November 16.

The Channel: To maintain the air of mystery and intrigue, customers could sign up only in-person at the 10 participating pubs. The marketing team posted a promo-tional movie to YouTube and details on Stella's Facebook page. Upon returning from their scene, participants could share their story with other contest winners in the pub.

The Creative: The experiential brand interaction served as the creative, along with the social media pages and in-bar placement. The creative sought to convey a mysterious tone with 1960s-chic overtones.

The Verdict: This “Night Chauffeur” is moody and elegant. To ask sophisticated folks to go to such effort means the payoff has to be a good story to tell your friends, and it is. This isn't a typical direct marketing or promo campaign. It's a modern brand experience.

From the January 2011 Issue of Direct Marketing News »