Strongbow
Creating “thirst appeal” at relevant times to generate high response
Audio(.mp3)
Background
Strongbow, the UK’s number one cider brand, wanted to deepen drinkers’ relationship with the brand in an increasingly competitive market. To achieve this, the brand launched its “Bowtime” CRM programme – striking up an engaging dialogue with drinkers.
In the summer of 2008, the challenge was to recruit as many Strongbow drinkers as possible and prompt people to order Strongbow when visiting the pub.
Why radio?
Strongbow wanted to position the brand as more refreshing than lager and as an ideal reward after a hard day. Therefore, they needed to create consumer appetite for that first pint of the night.
Unlike other media, radio allowed Strongbow to talk to the audience at precisely the time when this message is most powerful – the mid afternoon – when workers are thirsty and thinking of their first pint. The medium allowed Strongbow to entice and tempt the listener by using theatre of the mind.
Commercial Radio also has a culture of response, within which listeners are used to being encouraged to phone or text into the station. Strongbow were keen to harness the CRM potential of this response-savvy audience.
Implementation
Strongbow ran four airtime ads only in mid-afternoon slots, featuring the voice of David Mitchell, star of Peep Show. Mitchell teased drinkers, reminding them how hard they'd worked, and how satisfying a Strongbow would be, only to tell them to get back to work. It wasn’t time for their Bowtime yet. Having whetted the listeners appetite, Mitchell then invited listeners to text for their free pint, whereby drinkers would receive a voucher on their mobile, that they could redeem in their local pub.
Results
The recruitment campaign used multiple media, online and offline, but radio was by far the most successful – recruiting 25,635 people to the programme and at one of the lowest costs per acquisition.
Most impressively, it managed to effectively drive response whilst also being an engaging piece of brand communication – the radio was one of Strongbow’s creative highlights for 2008.
RAB Comment
This is a great example of a fully integrated campaign that made optimum use of radio’s ability to create “thirst appeal” and motivate an audience at the right time. It demonstrates how radio can significantly impact on a brand’s bottom line to deliver a positive business effect.
"For Strongbow, radio allows us to reach consumers at a specific time of day, one that is critical to our strategy and our ability to reach our target market. The success of this promotion driven through radio is proof that the medium works in synergy with our strategy and is a testament of radio's power to generate consumer response."
Fiona Seath, Brand Manager, Strongbow