Guinness: Made of More, 2012 - 2018

IPA Effectiveness Awards Case Study 2018

Guinness has a high bar for creativity and effectiveness, but by 2015 the challenge heightened: distribution was tight, the economy continued to stagnate and competition was tougher. Guinness doubled down on its Made of More positioning with every iteration, creating stronger connections to culture that brought the platform to life in new and bold ways across the media mix, and genuinely resonated with its audience (from the story of Gareth Thomas to the Cowboys of Compton). Ultimately, bolder work paid dividends with on-trade value share growing 8% in GB and an estimated £4.13 profit returned for every £1 invested.

This paper is a tale of iterative learning; of how magic and measurement create work that not only works, but endures. It’s the story of how Guinness never settles – and the success of this strategy is indicative in this being our second Made of More IPA paper. Again we’ve proved iterative creative development helped us build market share and claim the highest profit ROI ever reported in the IPA beer category. As we stated: it is a bold claim to be Made of More – you have to live up to it, to be prepared to never settle for ordinary, to push from good to great to best ever. This doesn’t mean repeating a formula. It’s about consistency of spirit and meaning, but never being afraid to question whether we could have done better. If we could have reached more people. If we hit all the right notes. But with the right tools in place, the right people and the right learnings we will continue to adapt Made of More making it more effective every time. Creativity has more power with the wisdom of measurement: by using data and cultural/ audience learnings to get to the nub of what has worked in the past in order to optimise for the future. For us, measurement isn’t about right and wrong, it’s about finding opportunities to help all of our teams make future decisions. This is why our work gets bolder, and why we’ve sought to embed our brand in culture. This is evidenced across our IPA papers, starting with Clock & Cloud, and through to planning our next campaign after Compton Cowboys.

Alison Falconer, Global Consumer Planning Director, Guinness and Beer
Diageo