The Beer Store's Musical Number Reminds Ontarians it has Something for Everyone

Arriving at the thirstiest time of the year is a new and cheerful brand campaign created for The Beer Store by King Ursa. This campaign is the Toronto agency’s first for The Beer Store since being named its AOR in November, and was created to remind both long-time customers and an entirely new audience that not only is it the favoured destination for Ontarians, there’s more than beer in store for you.

From joggers who like lagers, to hard seltzer fans, to barbeque enthusiasts seeking the perfect pilsners to go with their food, there are as many types of drinkers as there are options available at The Beer Store. With the Province’s original beer retailer celebrating its 95th anniversary this year, it wanted to emphasise to consumers that no matter where you are, who you’re with, or what situations you find yourself in, The Beer Store has a cold one that’s right for you - ‘Whatever the Case May Be’.

The ‘Whatever the Case May Be' platform was created to be ownable and contextual for any audience in any location for years to come. It was designed to give the brand long-term creative and strategic flexibility by allowing it to speak to existing and new audiences about The Beer Store’s growing selection of products and their relevance for all kinds of drinking occasions. 

The integrated campaign is led by a series of four 15-second videos and is supported by contextual ads across social, digital, and in-store that serve to reach audiences with messages like “When was the last time you drank something for the first time?”, “Searching for cold singles in your area?” and “Find the beer you didn’t know you were looking for.” In this ever-changing retail environment, it was important to remind Ontarians that The Beer Store’s selection of over 1,000+ beers now includes seltzers, radlers, and hard teas available in everything from single cans to 2-4s. 

“We know consumers’ tastes and shopping behaviours vary as much as the culture and landscapes of this amazing province, so we knew we needed to appeal to a broad and diverse audience,” says Natasha McVie, director of marketing at The Beer Store. “Thanks to our brewers, we continue to expand our selection year over year, so Ontarians can rely on us for a wide assortment of beer, flavour innovation, and malt-based ready to drink beverages from across Canada and around the world.”

The campaign is designed to showcase The Beer Store’s products in a fun and relatable way, says King Ursa president Cheryl Gosling. “It gives us an opportunity to speak to its huge range of products, great employees and widening customer base while affirming its positioning as a friendly and approachable retailer.”

King Ursa and The Beer Store’s media agency, OMD Worldwide, are working closely on the campaign to reach new consumers outside of their typical audience. Targeted executions across different platforms, including sports and gaming services, were developed to increase brand consideration for all kinds of drinking occasions.

“With the goal of revitalising our brand in the Ontario market, our strategy was to reach a younger audience than our historical core consumer. The media landscape has shifted dramatically in the past few years, most notably with our new millennial target.” says Ryan Calhoun, associate director of strategy at OMD.

“In order to connect with this group and drive brand consideration, we needed to reconsider our go-to-market approach and overhaul our media mix. Our proprietary media tools helped us to optimise our channel selection to include digital video and gaming platforms, delivering incremental reach and driving brand relevance.”