July 14, 2009

Guinness marks 250 years with social media push
Site invites consumers to be remarkable

Guinness has embarked on a new venture to engage and mobilize Canadians using various social media tools. To celebrate their 250 th anniversary, Guinness Canada has launched their Be Remarkable Canada webpage, which invites visitors to share what they feel to be a truly remarkable experience.

“It’s a great way to inspire voluntary conversations online between target consumers,” says Alanna Stone, spokesperson for Guinness Canada. “”It also increases awareness of the 250 th anniversary of our brand and drives submissions for the program.”

To celebrate the milestone in Canada, Guinness is asking Canadians what they consider to be truly remarkable experiences. Guinness will review the entries and then make a number of them happen. Entries can be submitted by visiting www.guinness.ca/beremarkablecanada. They can also discuss the concept of remarkable on the Guinness Facebook fan page or by following the contest on Twitter.

“Giving back through remarkable gestures has always been a part of the Guinness heritage,” says Stone. “We have some internal measurements that we will be using to evaluate the program but the most important thing for us is to ignite discussion.”

Since Guinness drinkers love good conversation and sharing time with friends, Stone says that social media was a natural fit for the company.

“At Guinness we believe in integrated marketing campaigns – using all channels of communication to build relationships with those who enjoy our products. Social media is, more than ever, a key component in the marketing mix and especially relevant to Guinness.”

Stone calls social media ‘ the conversational medium’ and a key component of the Be Remarkable Canada campaign is driving the discussion about how Canadians define the word remarkable.

“Social media is an ideal avenue to engage Guinness lovers to help us to define what remarkable is.”