Guinness 250 & An Age Of Reciprocity

There aren't very many brands that turn 250 years old, and there are even fewer brands that have an entire nation is willing to stand up and applaud, both for their heritage and for their synonymy with their own culture. Guinness is in many ways the epitome of Irish-ness, the prime example of who we are as a nation - hard-working, everyday folk with a strength of character to see us through. As a brand, Guinness is surely one of the best. A globally recognised powerhouse of advertising, design and innovation. Guinness extends beyond a simple beverage and has developed itself into sport and the arts. Guinness has done what many brands not only fail at, but never even realise to try. Guinness gives back.

In a changing modern digital world where the consumer is savvy and they have realised that the power to effect corporations and businesses is their's, Guinness have embraced change and strived to promote what I call 'an age of reciprocity'. The question is not how do I make you buy my product, the question is what can I do for you so that you love my brand. In a market where consumers will travel, bargains will be hunted for, and there is always an alternative, it is more important then ever to understand that the educated consumer can be either your friend or foe.

Social Media has opened up the world, democratised data, and given every single one of us the power to speak our mind and broadcast our opinion. Those with their thinking caps firmly in place, however, have come to realise this is in fact a good thing. The modern consumer is not naïve, they understand the buyer/seller relationship and they are, in most instances, happy with it. So long as everyone keeps their word, what is paid for is received, and the status quo of the relationship remains even, happiness will prevail.

As a brand though, it is easy to take this equilibrium and subtle sway it in your favour. Not by any underhandedness but simply by going that bit further, providing the little bit extra, by doing more to ensure that the customer is more then just happy. Of course, being a savvy shopper, this is noticed, and as long as the motives are clear, this will be looked on very favourably by the consumer. We like to feel that our patronage is being rewarded. We like to feel that we are part of the process. We like to feel special.

The nature of Reciprocity is that while there is a clear understanding that the buyer buys and the seller sells, there is also a deeper understanding that both parties are appreciative of the other. This relationship is by its nature symbiotic. Without one the other can't exist. So with that knowledge in hand, the seller goes a little step further. The best example that I have seen to date was Arthur’s Day. To celebrate 250 years of business and to thank the public for 250 years of patronage, Guinness put on a huge event filled with music and entertainment to a scale that had simply never been done before in Ireland. While the gigs/events weren't free, they were very reasonably priced, and the money that was taken in in ticket sales went to charity. So the public get to have a great time, they get to donate money to charity, and Guinness get to give back to the community. And sure, there were thousands upon thousands of pints of Guinness drank that day, but that's nothing to complain about.

Reciprocity is more then a passing trend in my opinion. Reciprocity is the natural evolution of the consumer/supplier relationship. Reciprocity is what has happened to the market through the prevalence of Social Media, the explosion of mobile technologies and the expansion of always-on, super-fast broadband. Reciprocity is a cultural revolution of consumerism. Above all though, Reciprocity is a great thing.

In the case of Guinness, however, the question now becomes where to next?

Well it just so happened that earlier today, Guinness announced details of a spectacular live TV ad to be broadcast on RTÉ 1 at 17:59 on New Year’s Eve, marking the end of the 250th anniversary celebrations and the establishment of the Arthur Guinness Fund.

The 60 second spectacle will feature a visual recreation of Arthur’s famous signature in a dramatic way, which will not be revealed until the broadcast at exactly 17:59 on New Year’s Eve.

In this instance, Reciprocity is simply going beyond the standard advertising message. It is the innovativeness to be creative, the daring to not directly push a product, it is the doing what the other guy isn't because it's exciting.

John Kennedy, Managing Director, Diageo Ireland commented, “New Year’s Eve marks the end of a very special milestone for the Guinness brand, from 1759 when Arthur signed the 9,000 year lease on the St. James’s Gate brewery to today, where Guinness is a truly iconic brand, enjoyed in 150 countries around the world. It was remarkable to see so many people participating in Arthur’s Day, the peak of the 250 celebrations. Guinness & Co also want to thank all the people who went to their local pub to lend their support and more importantly, their signature to the Guinness “Signature” campaign, which helped to create a €2.5 million Arthur Guinness Fund.”

Kennedy continued, “The ‘Here’s To You’ campaign and the live TV ad will not only mark the end of a remarkable year for the brand, but it’s also a gesture to Irish people who helped to create the Arthur Guinness Fund, the next philanthropic step from Guinness & Co., which will help to create sustainable community projects around the country from 2010.”

And it is on that sentiment that I can happily raise a glass to a man and his legacy; to Arthur!


Don't forget to check out the following links for more Guinness information:
Guinness Facebook Page
The Arthur's Day on-line petition
The Arthur Guinness Fund

Guinness 250: A Final Cheers For Arthur

Last Friday I had the absolute pleasure of being invited along to Brady's Pub in Shankill. Admittedly Shankill isn't a place I spend much time, in fact I believe I've only been there 5 times previously, discounting driving through. So what exactly was I heading out to Brady's for? Well, as it turned out, a really great night!

As part of the Guinness 250 celebrations, back in November, Guinness held a “Guinness Unplugged” competition calling on bars from around the country to capture their Arthur’s Day celebrations. The prize would be an exclusive gig with a top act. As I'm sure you can guess, Brady’s of Shankhill were crowned the winners. There prize was a free gig by ‘Noah And The Whale’, which was held last Friday.


Speaking about Guinness Unplugged, Karen Murphy, Brand Manager, Guinness said,”On the 24th September pubs all around Ireland joined in the worldwide celebrations for Arthur’s Day. Many pubs went to great lengths to ensure their customers were fully immersed in the unique Guinness experience, to mark the signing of the 9000 year signed by Arthur Guinness in 1759. For us, Brady’s in Shankhill really stood out. The team really excelled in delivering a fantastic night with their 1759 theme. It was clear that a lot of hard work and thought had gone into their Arthur’s Day celebrations and all the staff came together to create an unforgettable night for their customers”.

The entire bar, including the bar staff, the furniture, the decor and even the food was transported back to the 1700’s, as tribute to Arthur Guinness and his enduring legacy. The Brady’s staff even donned 17th century costumes and owner, John Brady, arrived in a full Arthur Guinness style costume on horse and cart to mark the occasion. It didn't stop there though, that evening the entire bar and all its customers were treated to a “pig on a spit” feast.

Owner and publican, John Brady commented, “We are delighted to have won the Guinness Unplugged competition. We all had a really fantastic time on Arthur’s Day. Everyone is still talking about it, the atmosphere in here was electric and everyone made such a big effort to mark the occasion. We are delighted to be hosting such a big act as ‘Noah And The Whale’ in our pub as a thank you, and no doubt we will all raise another toast to Arthur at 17.59 on the night of the gig!”.

So....... to Arthur!


p.s. a huge thanks to Carol Ann for the photos :)

Smirnoff - BE THERE

I wrote recently about the Smirnoff Masquerade Ball, which was the first Dublin event in Smirnoff's 'BE THERE' calender. 'BE THERE' is Smirnoff's mission to inspire, facilitate and enable people to create more one-of-a-kind experiences. To create those experiences that you just have to be there.

To kickstart the whole initiative, the Smirnoff have launched two really cool ways for you to become part of Smirnoff 'BE THERE'; the new Smirnoff Creative Grants Initiative and the Smirnoff Consumer Competition. Both these activities are looking to engage the public, find out what we want and, ultimately, to ask for our advice on what Smirnoff should be doing next.

The Smirnoff Creative Grants Initiative enables creatives and promoters to make there vision and idea of an original, one-of-a-kind experience become reality. Smirnoff will be awarding a grant of €10,000 to one lucky person for the most unique proposal for a one-of-a-kind experience/event. The grant is open to applications from Ireland, USA, Canada and Brazil, and is as simple as pie. Just submit a 100-word proposal to the Smirnoff Facebook page. The winner will be handpicked by the Smirnoff global panel of experts, also including Brazil’s Bonde do Rolê, Canada’s Ryan Kruger (DAMN! Management, founder Cutting Edge Music Festival), USA’s Damon DeGraff (dGi Management).

Don't sit around just thinking about it though - the closing date for entries is 18th December. Winners will then be announced on 20th January, with the event taking taking place in March.

This is a seriously cool promotion and definitely worth entering if you are in any way creative. Just think of an event. It's that easy.


The second 'BE THERE' activity that has launched, the Smirnoff Consumer Competition, is equally as cool. Essentially, Smirnoff is challenging people across the world to get creative and answer the question “How would you create a New Year’s Eve revolution?” This is the first in a series of monthly competitions that will be run through the Smirnoff Brand Site and their Facebook Page. All you need to do is give a tweet-sized 140 characters describing how you would overturn New Year’s Eve convention to create a revolutionary end-of-the-year event. Smirnoff will be giving one lucky person US$1,000 and a Flip Mino HD video camcorder.

Again this is going to require some quick moving, but again it's well worth it. The closing date for the first competition is next Thursday 17th December, and it is open to Ireland, Australia, Brazil, Canada, US and Venezuela. The top five entries for a one-of-a-kind, New Year’s Eve experience will be selected by Smirnoff's esteemed global panel of entertainment industry experts, including Ireland’s very own Declan Forde (Pod Entertainment and The Electric Picnic) and Australia’s Brett Robinson (Future Promotions, Summadayze).

The best thing here is that even if you're not lucky enough to win the top prize, no one goes away empty handed. For everyone who enters there is a free download of the Simian Mobile Disco track “Turn up the Dial” featuring Young Fathers (Stankonia Mix). So remember to enter before the 17th December and then get yourself over to the Smirnoff Facebook Page between the 23rd and 29th December to vote on which of the top five entries should win.


About the Smirnoff BE THERE campaign
Most of us have been a part of experiences that are truly unforgettable and extraordinary. We talk about these experiences for years to come and revel in the fact that ‘we were there’. The word ‘there’ is often used to talk about amazing events or happenings. How many times have you heard someone say: I was there!? / Were you there? / I can’t believe you weren’t there! / Are you going there? / You’ve got to be there?!

Smirnoff’s global campaign is all about inspiring and enabling consumers to seek and create these unforgettable and extraordinary experiences – to BE THERE.

Advertising In The Noughties

If you work in advertising or marketing, or simply have an interest in the industries, Brand Republic just covered a great article by Campaign, which should be essential reading!

Campaign put it that due to the massive leaps that technology has made in the last 10 years, in comparison to the 40 before them, the communication of marketing messages have also drastically changed at the same speed. With that in mind, Campaign have created a fantastic overview of 'Advertising in the Noughties'. So, without any needless stalling, here are the lists:

• Advertising in the noughties - Top 10 posters
• Advertising in the Noughties - Top 10 virals
• Advertising in the Noughties - Top 10 TV and cinema ads
• Advertising in the noughties - Top 10 press ads
• Advertising in the noughties - Top 10 regional press ads
• Advertising in the noughties - Top 10 DM campaigns
• Advertising in the Noughties - Top 10 digital ads
• Advertising in the noughties - Advertising agency of the decade - Mother London

The big news here is obviously Mother's winning of the prestigious accolade of Campaign's Agency of the Decade. Serious congratulations to everyone in Mother.

Here are the reels for Mother and the two shortlisted agencies, BBH and Fallon London:
Watch the Mother London reel
Watch the Fallon London reel
Watch the Bartle Bogle Hegarty reel

Guinness Storehouse: Weather Cam

This week saw the launch of Guinness Storehouse's brand new 360 degree, online, live streaming weather cam. The newest addition to Ireland's number one visitor attraction, offer a stunning view from the highest viewpoint in Dublin City - The Gravity Bar. Now people from all over the world can enjoy a bird’s eye view of Dublin city in real time.

Speaking about the weather cam, Valentina Doorly, Guinness Storehouse Marketing and Sales Manager, said, “The Guinness Storehouse is known all around the world for the panoramic views available from the Gravity Bar. With the introduction of this new, innovative technology we are delighted to be able to bring this view to everyone in Ireland and throughout the world.”


Beyond just a simple view, as stunning as it is, the weather cam also provides a real time weather report. Fitted alongside the 360 degree cam is a host of weather instruments showing current weather conditions, temperature and wind speed. What makes the weather cam truly special, however, is the unique features that the weather cam is equipped with - such as an automated wiper that detects levels of rainfall and the 360 degree rotation that covers the entire city of Dublin.

A big hat tip to my colleagues in Cybercom who worked on the project. A great idea and a really nice addition to Dublin's best tourist spot. All that's left to do now is to pop over and check it out!

In related news, Guinness Storehouse has also introduced an “Interactive Dublin City Tour” on their website, which allows you to get even closer to the city and its treasured landmarks. The virtual tour features 24 city landmarks, viewable from the webcam including Christchurch Cathedral, Aviva Stadium, the Wellington Monument, Croke Park and the Spire. The City Tour also shows views of the St. James’s Gate Brewery, Wicklow Mountains, the Sugar Loaf Mountain and Howth Head.


Weather cam facts:
The Guinness Storehouse weather station can operate from -10 degrees C to +50 degrees C.
The weight of the weather cam is 7kg.
The weather cam is a Ganz C-AllView equipped with a low light level CCD sensor.
The weather cam has a 36x optical zoom facility

About Guinness Storehouse
Guinness Storehouse welcomed over 1 million visitors in 2008 from over 25 countries making it Ireland’s number one visitor attraction.
Guinness Storehouse spans across seven floors shaped around a giant pint, which, if filled would contain 14.3 million pints of Guinness.
The highlight for many visitors is the Gravity Bar, symbolically the ‘Head of the Pint’, where visitors can enjoy unparalleled panoramic views
of Dublin city.