The Belgian brewer, which has a China footprint of 18 breweries in six provinces, is running separate television campaigns in Wenzhou, Hunan and Nanjing, created by its newly-appointed agency Lowe China.
Richard Tin, Lowe's business director, said separate campaigns were created to cater to the different local insights and market conditions that impact consumption in each province.
In Wenzhou, the focus is on expanding the Double Deer brand beyond the mass market to tap the mid to premium segment in hotels and restaurants.
The brewer has rolled out a premium lite variant in Zhejiang's provincial capital.
In the TVC, Double Deer assumes a personality as bubbly and fun-loving.
Both spots show Double Deer bottles making a get-away from a dull environment, from a couch potato in the first spot and a snoozer in the second TVC, to head to a beach party in full swing. "The strategy was to bring the brand alive and show that Double Deer is crucial to any gathering where people want to have fun; it shows the brand is part of the in-crowd," said Tin.
The Changsha campaign taps into local pride in a province known for its patriotic support of its own products, including locally-brewed Baisha.
Lowe went back into history for a strategy that appealed to local pride, featuring a prominent historical figure from Hunan province - the poet Qi Yuan, who ended his life by drowning to protest against corruption, thus inspiring today's Dragon Boat festival. The first half of the TVC is shot in the epic style of a Jiang Zimou film. The troubled poet is seen ready to plunge into the river. A youthful male from the present day then emerges in the scene to remind Qi Yuan: "Nothing under the sky is too great to end your life. Have a beer and enjoy it". Tin added: "We gave Changsha's drinkers local pride; what we were saying is that 'alot of things in Hunan are great so have pride in your brand'."
As in Wenzhou, Interbrew also launched a premium lite variant under its Jinling brand in Nanjing, Jiangsu's provincial capital, to protect its core label from global competitors, chiefly Anheuser-Busch and China's closest approximation to a national beer brand Tsingtao.
The spot employs humour to build an emotional tie with local drinkers, showing a young suitor who fails to make it pass his girlfriend's protective father at the front door. The suitor then takes a sip of Jinling beer, lets out an expression of sheer satisfaction through the speaker phone, prompting the father to open the door to share the drink. The voice-over adds: 'Never underestimate a good beer'.
The targets in the three markets are predominantly male, but the age segment is broader, ranging from 18 to 60. But the Weizhou and Nanjing spots are aimed at the 25 to 45 white collar drinkers.