Guinness needed to address a significant challenge facing Irish pubs: a 10% decline in trade due to economic pressures and waning rugby fan enthusiasm after Ireland’s disappointing Rugby World Cup exit.
As a champion of Irish pubs, Guinness aimed to reignite fan passion and drive pub traffic during the crucial Guinness Six Nations Championship. Their objectives were clear: increase fan sentiment, drive an increase in on-trade sales, and boost brand vibrancy scores.
To achieve this, Guinness cleverly leveraged the viral success of Irish rugby legend Ronan O’Gara’s passionate dressing room speech. They created L’0.0pportunité, a humorous parody video featuring O’Gara delivering a pep talk directly to Irish fans, encouraging them to return to pubs for the Championship.
The campaign relied heavily on organic social media promotion, utilising the combined reach of Guinness Ireland, Ronan O’Gara, and the IRFU’s channels. Earned media outreach secured interviews with O’Gara, generating significant coverage for the campaign.
The results were remarkable.
