CLIENT Trumer Pils
TITLE "TRU"
Deliverables
On/Off premise collateral including table tents, coasters, POP/POS, bottle toppers and banners for bars, restaurants & grocery outlets. Print Ads, OOH, Package Design, Sponsorships, Event Marketing, and Online Banners.
Target
Cultural Influencers. Affluent ($75k+) 29-39 year olds with an evolving range of taste and appreciation for quality. They enjoy fine dining and are more often than not the "leaders" of their social circles.
Challenge & Assignment
In 2004, Swirl helped launch Trumer Pils in the U.S. by leveraging the brand's deep Austrian roots, refined taste and commitment to continue the exacting brewery standards in the sister brewery, Trumer Brauerei Berkeley. Quickly finding success throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Trumer Pils was then introduced to new West Coast markets such as Portland, Seattle and San Diego in 2006 and 2007.
As 2008 approached, Trumer found themselves on the brink of more wide-spread recognition regionally and nationally. In order to take advantage of new opportunities, Trumer asked Swirl to conduct qualitative research in the new markets. Swirl was then challenged with taking the key research learnings and developing a marketing program that would increase trial, sales and brand awareness on/off-premise (grocery, restaurants, bars and events), all within a very limited budget.
Strategy & Solution
Swirl began by conducting a Trumer Pils brand audit to understand where their equity lies. Surprisingly, we found out that while taste is important to beer drinkers, Trumer Pils's story is what consumers remembered about the beer. Our key take away was that by having the beer brewed here in the U.S., the freshness was supported while still staying authentic by shipping the ingredients to California from Austria. "It's like getting a Euro beer without the Euro prices," one customer told us.
These learnings informed creative exploration. We came up with a direction that reinforced the brewery's story with simple, one-word questions that accurately describe the brand and can be answered with a very ownable "Tru." With the creative incorporation of the Trumer brand name as the answer to questions, Trumer Pils is kept top of mind.
We took a multifaceted approach and developed a campaign that would reach our cultural influencers (bartenders, waitstaff and customers alike) at a variety of touchpoints and would give opportunity for this target to continue spreading the "Tru" story.
Utilizing the bold headline and supporting body copy to address the story, we chose to replace the clean/white background of the 2007 print work with a bold, premium, appetizing red.
Prior to launch of the Out-of-Home campaign, Trumer received the highest honor given to a domestic Pilsner - a Gold medal in the 2008 World Beer Cup contest for Best German-style Pilsner. Selected by an international panel of experts from around the world, Trumer could now accurately describe themselves as the "Best Pilsner in the World." We went out strong with OOH placements near key accounts and city centers in the four main Trumer markets to announce the World Beer Cup award win and continue to increase brand awareness through the reach of OOH.
Online
Leveraging our media buy and relationships within the industry, Swirl coordinated free value-added placement on some of the industry's most prominent trade publication sites.
Promotions
Earth Day Promotion
Leveraging Trumer's earth-friendly brand equities (non-pasteurized product, recyclable/green bottle, Berkeley heritage, etc.), Swirl created a campaign that associated Trumer Pils with Earth Day by giving consumers Trumer-branded seed paper that they could plant as a reminder that Trumer Pils is working to support a greener future.
By partnering with various radio stations we reached our target as they celebrated the holiday. Our program included:
- On-air promotions including DJ reads and teasers that encouraged participation in Earth Day celebrations.
- Distribution of over 10,000 Trumer Pils bottleneck hangers made out of seed paper and other Trumer Pils information at radio station-sponsored Earth Day events happening around the holiday.
Case for the Cure Promotion
Swirl developed an integrated campaign around the sponsorship between Trumer and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's Race for the Cure™ fundraising event. Their sponsorship provided Trumer a brand presence at the heavily attended race where Trumer Pils co-branded t-shirts, buttons and tchotchkes were handed out to race participants, friends, family and supporters.
At the heart of Trumer's sponsorship was the Case for the Cure promotion Swirl developed that took place at on and off-premise locations (grocery/retail, restaurants, bars) during October, Breast Cancer Awareness month. For every case of product sold during October, Trumer donated $1 to the Susan G. Komen foundation.
Overall Campaign Results
At the end of 2008, Trumer Pils has seen outstanding growth across all markets and has continued to expand off-premise distribution. Trumer had their "best month of sales ever" in San Francisco during the October Case for the Cure Promotion, surpassing their previous record by over 1,000 cases. This gave Trumer the opportunity to share their success by making a large donation to the San Francisco chapter of the Susan G. Komen foundation.
The year was so successful for the brand that plans for 2009 include expansion into additional new markets.
"Swirl has immersed itself in our brand and has helped make Trumer Pils the hottest Pilsner in the Bay Area, and one of the fastest growing brands on the West Coast! Through strong Earth Day and Susan G. Komen programming developed by Swirl, Trumer has seen its best year ever. PROST!"
Stacey Williams, Marketing Manager
The Gambrinus Company
