Guinness: making connections, rooted in culture

How do you build a ’global icon with a local heartbeat’? For us, it’s about continually building on the rich cultural heritage of this outstanding, distinctive brand, weaving it into the fabric of a local culture. That means understanding key moments in people’s lives – and the meaningful role Guinness can play in those moments – and connecting with consumers in unforgettable ways. This year, Guinness was the most talked about beer brand in the world on social media,¹ driven by a series of innovative campaigns that built on a long legacy of creative excellence and cultural relevance.

Guinness stands for optimism – after all, ’good things come to those who wait’ – and during Covid-19, we all needed to be reminded that the best is yet to come. So in Great Britain, where lockdown restrictions meant people were missing the shared communion of a pint in the pub, our ’Welcome Back’ campaign responded by celebrating that first pint back – back with friends and family and back in the community.

Hope characterised our campaign in the United States too, which focussed on football, America’s most popular sport. In partnership with legendary quarterback Joe Montana, the ’Comeback Kid’, we delivered a message of optimism and resilience – that success is measured not only by your wins, but also by how you come back from a hard loss, or a hard year.

In Nigeria we found new ways to join the conversation, partnering with Prince Nelson Enwerem, the hugely popular Big Brother Nigeria contestant, in a campaign that paid homage to the culture of East Nigeria. The campaign had over two million views in the first three days of launch, underlining the power of Guinness’s cultural ties.

^1. Sprinklr, July 2020 to June 2021