Behind the Campaign Which Celebrated The Beer Store’s Reliability
It’s no secret that Ontario’s booze market is getting more and more competitive. With the September announcement that all licensed convenience stores can now sell ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages – courtesy of premier Doug Ford – the province’s residents are facing the largest expansion of consumer choice since the end of the prohibition (almost 100 years ago).
Of course, more choices means the possibility of undercut sales for some of the more established businesses, such as The Beer Store. After all, unless it’s convenient, why take the time to go there when you can just walk around the corner and get something quicker?
This is exactly what the business, in partnership with creative agency Arrivals + Departures, set out to answer in its latest campaign. Designed to reinforce the company’s key offerings and remind people why it’s Ontario’s top beer retailer, the two used a mixture of spots, out-of-home, website and social advertising to remind loyal customers of the meaningful connection they’ve built with The Beer Store over the years. Further informed via a strategic audit conducted by the agency, which included interviews with shareholders, it all culminated in work that celebrates this age-old rite of passage (at least for people of legal drinking age), and reminds Ontarians why they should continue to keep getting their cases of beer spun out on the shop’s iconic aluminium rollers.
To learn more about just what it took to make this happen, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Arrivals + Departures’ chief creative officer, Jeff MacEachern, as well as VP business director, Zeeshan Hussain, for a chat.
LBB> From the top, what was the brief for this campaign, and what immediate ideas came to mind?
Jeff> Right away, we knew we needed to play toward what was unique to The Beer Store (TBS) experience. I mean, it’s a store that only sells beer. Sounds like heaven to any beer lover. But, there’s also a nostalgia that we wanted to explore, as this is a unique set up that Ontarians have known for decades. And, along with the nostalgia, our core audience needed to be reminded of the reliability and predictability of shopping with TBS – which in their busy, hectic lives, can be a highly valued luxury.
Zeeshan> The strategic direction given all the insights around category, culture and core consumer audiences was clear as we distilled everything down – it had to be about keeping the average beer shopper’s beer run painless. No BS, all about the beer. From that, our creative exploration was focused and efficient about cementing that brand positioning.
LBB> Notably, the agency conducted a strategic audit, including interviews with shareholders to develop this new brand positioning. Why was this important to the process, and what were the key takeaways?
Zeeshan> As part of our strategic process and insights gathering when conducting a brand audit, we always do a deep dive into its history, story, core values, corporate culture, and the people who help shape it. Given an almost 100-year history and longevity as one of the biggest beer retailers, we want to talk to people across departments in sales, retail operations and environmental stewardship. It helped validate the brand truths that we wanted to ensure carried on as we developed a new strategic positioning – specifically high-quality customer service, value, reliability, and continuing to be the greenest retailer in the world.
LBB> Creatively speaking, how did these takeaways inspire you to focus on the theme of meaningful connections? And specifically, why was this the right narrative tone for the job?
Jeff> Every beer brand under the sun is saying all that can be said about the liquid in the bottle. But there is a unique experience that is hard to describe – but is clearly felt – when one walks into a Beer Store. The smell of beer, the sounds of empties being tallied, fresh cases shooting down the aluminium rollers, and the patrons from all walks of life in your community milling about. While beer drinkers may have a level of loyalty to one brand over another, these are the fond things played back when asked about what TBS means to them.
LBB> How did this translate to the writing process? What went into crafting each spot, and creating the right narrative dialogue over top?
Jeff> We developed a device that not only touted what makes TBS different from the new competition in the market, but more importantly, what the benefit of those functional traits meant to our core consumer. And we wanted to ensure we avoid the typical beer tropes with this first campaign.
LBB> Tell us about your time on set! Where did you shoot, how long did it take, and do you have any anecdotes from the experience?
Jeff> It was filmed during the summer, a key retail season for TBS, and not to mention at a time when the LCBO was on strike. Therefore TBS was very busy (understatement of the year) providing for Ontarians, so closing down a location during the day was not an option. Instead, we camped out on the coldest night of the summer in a TBS parking lot while the crew worked their magic indoors. Like any overnight shoot, lunch was enjoyed at 2:30am and by the crack of dawn, we wrapped and all went on our separate ways (to the office, or bed).
Zeeshan> We also presented our OOH design recommendation after midnight to the brand team, huddled around a single laptop in a circle of picnic chairs under our video village tent. Following that, the brand team went for a quick walk around the deserted parking lot under the stars and came back with some consolidated notes and overall approval to process – maybe ‘Midnight Madness Creative Presentations’ becomes a new thing!
LBB> The final sequence in each spot with the roller displaying the Beer Store logo is super slick. How did this aspect come to life?
Jeff> This was a concept that came early to us. In fact, it was a visual device we explored in the art direction for our out-of-home creative. And while it provided legibility issues when using more than three to four words, it was a perfect reveal for the bold and simple logo of TBS. Not to mention everyone who has stepped foot in a TBS knows of the rollers used to deliver their order to their hands.
LBB> Of course, the campaign also featured a whole bunch of other elements, including website assets and social. How did you work with the in-house team to bring these to life, and were any especially tricky?
Zeeshan> For this first wave, it was a more streamlined approach. The brand marketing team assigned us with establishing the look and feel of the visual elements, as well as allowing us to set the tone and attitude in the copy, which the in-house team was able to leverage for the different owned channel assets and required elements. There will continue to be more collaboration as we explore the consistency and uniqueness of creative between brand and retail comms down the line.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Zeeshan> The government regulations that allow for the expansion of the beer retail landscape in itself is a seismic change, for both shoppers and retailers alike. As such, the velocity to which the expansion happened impacted the speed of how we had to bring the new communications strategy and campaign to market, along with ensuring we could hit the mark with the tone and messaging which would resonate with our target audience.
LBB> Since launch, what has the response to the campaign been like?
Zeeshan> We’re still in the middle of our campaign so it’s too early to share performance results, but given the positive momentum and internal reactions, we’re already creating a new wave of executions for both owned channels (eg. in-store posters, digital merchandise, organic content), as well as a new paid media holiday season campaign under the same campaign direction.
LBB> Finally, is there an aspect of the work you’re most proud of?
Zeeshan> When you’re a legacy brand that has a long-history and massive number of people who have a personal perception of the brand, one of the most difficult things is capturing the essence of what makes the brand and its core consumer unique. Across marketing and agency teams, we wanted to get to the core of who TBS is as an organisation, and crafted this campaign to clearly communicate the key values offered to consumers, while setting up the next chapter of TBS’ ongoing commitment to serving Ontarians.
