This weekend, I applied to an ad agency for a position of a copywriter in their summer internship in Chicago. The brand, Kilcully's beer doesn't exist, but I like the resulting print ads/campaign. The goal was to create a campaign (original body copy, image, tagline) that gets beer drinkers in Cleveland to try Kilcully’s, 12 microbrew beers that all Nashville drinkers love, especially when listening to the likes of Willie Nelson or Shooter Jennings. The objective of the campaign, the resulting two print ads, and guerilla marketing/PR events follow.
Objective: We need to target the hipsters of Cleveland in the 21-35 year old market because they are the trendsetters, constantly looking for new things to delve into and claim as their own and to set them apart. We need to show the hipsters of Cleveland the authenticity of Kilcully’s beer by exposing the back-story of its musical Nashville roots-where the beer has been, what it’s seen and, whom it has encountered. We will do this by giving each microbrew its own personality, its own voice and story of the musical journey it’s been on, showing the individuality of the beer while tapping into the authenticity of Kilcully’s beer.
Develop two buzz ideas (stunts/PR executions that get people talking).
For my on-the-street buzz idea, I would take a crew of a dozen (like the amount of different microbrews Kilcully’s has) brand representatives down to Euclid Avenue, each representing a different microbrew, showcasing the variety and personality of the beers through their attire (cowboy boots, hat and a denim jacket with “I am Kilcully’s” embroidered on the back) and their own stor. Every half hour, each representative will have a different story (same copy as the print ad’s and labels, but extended) to perform in the middle of the Public Square, and each script will end with “I am Kilcully’s” spoken in unison by the performers followed by grabbing and enjoying their particular beer from a cooler stocked full of Kilcully’s. Once this is done, samples of the beer would be distributed to on-lookers and passers-by via more beer bottles or an on-scene beer tent.
For my bar buzz idea, I would have twelve country tracks (one for each type of microbrew) with the likes of Willie Nelson (On the Road Again), Johnny Cash (Ring of Fire), Shooter Jennings (4th of July), etc, put onto a CD each with a voice over laid on top of the music, each telling the same story of the beer that the representatives did on the street, further creating the individual identity of the microbrews and the overarching authentic feel of the brand. I would have this CD played in the bathrooms of the popular hipster bars (Great Lakes Brewing Company, Melt Bar and Grilled, Prosperity Social Club, Nighttown, Momocho Mod Mex, The Lava Lounge) that serve Kilcully’s, instead of the usual music. This way it doesn’t interrupt the goings-on in the bar, and it will most certainly grab people’s attention, and hopefully arouse so much intrigue that the customers will want to try the beer.
Develop a local Kilcully’s event
Every year, Cleveland Metroparks and Cleveland Zoo put on an “Earth Fest Party for the Planet.” We could leverage this already established event and pair with them to help bring in a varied audience, including the 21-35 year old hipster market, who are very Green Conscientious and love their local tunes. We charge local bands an entrance fee (small enough so it’s easy to get a lot of bands and big enough to get a considerable amount to donate to the charity) to play a 30 minute set, and a $5 fee plus whatever else they would like to donate to EcoTrust (an organization that invests in economic, social and environmental innovation) and this way bring more traffic into the Zoo, more awareness to Going Green, and more attention to Kilcully’s.
Further Activation
Other ways I would reach the target would be another guerilla marketing campaign, where I would write the stories of the beers on the insides of bathroom stalls in the hipster hangouts of Cleveland, directing them to the website to find out more about the beer and where they can find it. Another idea would be to write the stories on the sidewalks around Cleveland, having the script lead them to bars that serve Kilcully’s. Online promotions would include a YouTube channel with all the songs and stories from the previously mentioned CD, with music videos and live shows of the singers being the visual. I think it would be important to pair up with Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, and Pitchfork.com in order to advertise with them and let the Musical In Crowd know what’s coming to their town and where they can go to be the first to tap into authenticity.
