Page 142 - 100 Great Marketing Ideas (100 Great Ideas)

67 COMMUNICATE IN A
RELEVANT WAY

Sometimes the product’s unique selling proposition can be
tedious. Whatever the real benefits, it is sometimes just not exciting
enough for consumers to get worked up about. Injecting some
excitement is often a matter of being creative about the advertising
message—and turning a drawback into an advantage.

The idea

Grolsch is a Dutch beer aimed at mature males who consume
premium brands. The beer itself tastes pretty much like any other
Dutch lager beer, and during the 1990s it became marginalized
by the more aggressively marketed Stella Artois, Budweiser, and
Kronenbourg 1664 brands. The company’s advertising agency, The
Leith Agency, was tasked with repositioning the brand in order to
double sales by 2002, and replace Kronenbourg 1664 as the number
two premium brand by 2010.

The distinctive feature of Grolsch is that it is brewed more slowly
than other beers. This gives it a fuller flavor, but telling consumers
that it is brewed longer for a fuller flavor is a message that came
across as dull and not very relevant. The agency identified the
consumers’ prevailing view of the Netherlands: that it is a laid-back,
easygoing place. This perception of the Netherlands and the Dutch
is what the agency hung the campaign on.

The new campaign featured a Dutch hero showing that things
are better when they are not rushed. The first advert showed bank
robbers attacking a bank that was only partly built. The Dutch hero
shouts “Schtop!” and the endline “We only let you drink it when it’s
ready” was flashed up on the screen.

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