Developed by TBWA, the campaign features three different executions that highlight the intensity and taste of the beer. “It’s a strong beer with loads of alcohol. So we made a twist to the proposition to say that you’ll probably never finish a whole bottle,” said Bas Moreu, TBWA’s ECD. “The creative had to be really simple, yet the product had to stand out.”
The first execution shows a bottle of Anchor Strong, with measurements and markers on its side to indicate how much had been drunk. Other executions depicted the beer with a shot glass and a bottle cork, implying that the beer must be drunk in moderation, and saved for special occasions.
The work is running in print and outdoor formats, as well as point-of-sale at bars. “The brief was to distinguish Anchor Strong from its original and Smooth variants. The client had a specific audience in mind. They wanted to target consumers who are loyal to the brand - the real beer drinkers among the mass public,” said Moreu.
Guinness Anchor (GA) is also the brewer and distributor of Tiger, Guinness and Heineken beer in Malaysia. The company reported strong growth for the second half of 2007, with a profit of RM94.50 million (US$29.5 million) and a 17.2 per cent rise in revenue, to RM290.4 million.
According to GA managing director Charles Ireland, the group’s revenue and profits performance was on account of consumers and trade partners choosing GA’s brands ahead of those of its competitors. The brewery has a 55 per cent share of the beer market and faces competition from Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia, which controls the other half of the market.
Carlsberg Malaysia will be looking to regain its lead in the industry. It once held a 65 per cent share. The group’s Green Label beer remains the best-selling beer in the country, but the company’s profits slid 67 per cent to RM10.6 million in the first half of 2007.
Both breweries rolled out new lower-priced beers for the new year to boost their positioning among younger audiences: GA launched Jaz Beer while Carlsberg premiered Tuborg Green.
