Is Bono in Town? Guinness partners U2 to launch second outlet in MY

Arthur’s Storehouse and HEINEKEN Malaysia have launched the second official Guinness outlet in Malaysia and have roped in Irish rock-band, U2 for its launch campaign. 

Done in collaboration with storytelling agency GO Communications, the brand sought out to create a campaign to match the acclaim of the iconic beverage.

Don’t miss: Guinness Malaysia gets consumers grooving to first St.Patrick's Day anthem

It didn’t take long to realise that besides Guinness, another one of Dublin’s most famous exports to the world was none other than Irish rock-band, U2, the agency said in a statement. 

Marrying ‘Music’ and ‘Magic’ as the core ethos of the establishment, the brand sought out and engaged Pavel Sfera, the most renowned U2 tribute artist and spitting image of frontman Bono himself, to not only launch Arthur’s Storehouse in Pavilion Bukit Jalil, but to create buzz and hype leading up to the launch, by playing a sense of theatre with the public.

The campaign kicked off with meticulously selected lifestyle and F&B influencers posting snippets of Sfera arriving at KLIA and walking around the city center posing a question to their followers “Is Bono in town?”.

The brand took Sfera to the streets of the city center to interact with Malaysians and play along with the charade, resulting in a social storm of images and videos of the tribute artist circulating the web.

The intrigue and mystery that ensued on social media then went into a media blitz of articles reporting “Bono’s” arrival in Kuala Lumpur, further questioning if it was really the With or Without You singer and what exactly he was doing on this side of the globe.

The pinnacle of the campaign was the reveal at the launch event where Sfera performed a medley of U2’s greatest hits.

The entertainment aspect of the campaign was courtesy of a partnership between GO Communications and GIMM Events Global.

"It’s always liberating to work with brands that believe in out-of-the-box ideas and work collaboratively to make it a success. It is launches like these that truly showcase the power of storytelling in an appropriately fun manner and how it can further foster interest and awareness,” said Peter de Kretser, CEO of GO Communications.

The agency was also appointed to manage the entire scope of media, PR, and influencer strategy in conjunction with the launch. Kretser added that the agency looks forward to continually working with Arthur’s Storehouse and HEINEKEN Malaysia in the future.

The launch of Guinness’ second official outlet doubled up as the one-year anniversary of their flagship outlet as well, a nod to the brand’s presence in Malaysia over the last 30 years.

Guinness Malaysia also launched another installation of its St. Patrick’s Day celebrations along its first ever Guinness St. Patrick’s anthem earlier in March this year.

Titled “Our day to remember” the campaign tapped onto the popularity of reels today, the Guinness St. Patrick’s new anthem provides fans a soundtrack to post their reels and other videos with.

The biggest conference is back! Experience the future of marketing with 500+ brilliant minds at Digital Marketing Asia on 28 - 30 November in Singapore. Uncover groundbreaking strategies that connect leading brands with their target audiences effectively.

Related articles: 
Guinness MY gives consumers a glimpse into its beer brewing process
'Bring the pub home,' Guinness MY tells Gen Z via pop-up and Instagram missions
HK Tramways hands free rides on 18 August to celebrate Guinness World Records entry