There’s a citrus invasion happening across Canada. In advance of Monday’s debut of Bud Light Lime, street teams are handing out limes in downtown centres. Those pocketing the lime will find an address to a Youtube microsite, which hosts a quirky video of a Limey, a party animal who’s half man and half – you guessed it – fruit.
As part of this week’s buzz-creating phase of the launch campaign, commuters in Toronto’s Union Station last night were doing the twist to the popular 1960s tune, as encouraged by Bud’s own dancers. Some were dressed in lime outfits, while others posed as suits in order to encourage commuters to dance before the GO Train ride home. Creating engagement and excitement is the goal of the campaign, with marketing and creative developed by DDB Chicago and Brad in Montreal, as well as media handled by M2 Universal. Grip in Toronto developed the online component and Edelman organized the public relations as well as the OOH events, along with Mosaic.
Since the launch of Bud Light Lime in the US last year, five Facebook groups popped up with thousands of members demanding the beer be brought to Canada. Some of those members aided the campaign launch, which also includes a social media-bred contest that began yesterday, explains Richard Musson, VP marketing, Labatt Breweries of Canada.
‘We sent a letter to each of their members and the first 100 who got back to us received special ambassador kits, and they can go out there and spread the gospel,’ Musson tells MiC. A verse of that gospel is the chance to win a Bud Light Lime launch party thrown by Labatt, which can be won by those who organize a party group with more than 300 members on the Bud Light Lime Facebook page.
The target demo is skewing younger (19 to 30) and female, Musson explains. ‘We normally advertise to men because we find they’re the biggest beer drinkers, but what we found in the US is that 25% of the volume is coming from non-beer drinkers. Some of it’s taking off similar beer brands but it’s also taking off coolers and mixers,’ he says.
While the contest closes on June 12, other campaign components will launch later in the summer including a homepage takeover of Yahoo in June, as well as traditional television and billboard executions, says Musson.
