'Bring the pub home,' Guinness MY tells Gen Z via pop-up and Instagram missions

Guinness Malaysia is dazzling consumers with an immersive and experiential pop-up named House of Guinness, encouraging consumers to "Bring the pub home". Done together with Sambal Lab, the brand hopes to educate drinkers on the difference between its new offering, Guinness Draught in a can, and the existing Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. It also wants to debunk the perception that other stout brands are on par with Guinness. At the House of Guinness, guests are required to complete several Instagram-able missions which end with learning how to pour the perfect draught at a pop-up bar. This activation is mainly targeted at Gen Z and tail-end Millennials and aims to attract 14,000 visitors during its 39 days of operation until 4 September. 

Shaun Lim, marketing manager - Guinness and Diageo Brands at Heineken Malaysia who is leading the project, told A+M that many younger drinkers are now consuming off-premises, not just locally but around the world. Hence, the team asked themselves the question: "What do our customers drink at home?"

"Obviously, they weren’t drinking Guinness Draught. We built the House of Guinness to tell them that the same smooth and creamy goodness from the pub can now be enjoyed in the comfort of their own home. And our widget, a plastic sphere inside the can, is what makes this possible. They no longer have to 'cheat' on us!" he added. The journey to the House of Guinness begins with a train ride to St. James Gate, followed by a projection room that shows the history of Guinness, the creation of Guinness Draught, Guinness in Malaysia, and eventually Guinness Draught in a can.

This is followed by other immersive experiences, and entering an 18-foot can. A hydraulic platform then brings guests to the top to experience what it’s like when the can is opened. Throughout the journey, guests interact with the Guinness widget. Sealed inside the pressurised can, the widget is activated once the tab is pulled. This releases a stream of nitrogen bubbles that surge and settle to create the smooth, creamy, and distinctive Guinness head.

Each mission chamber within the pop-up has video cameras strategically placed to capture candid moments' that guests can download when they reach the bar. There, Guinness Draught Masters guide guests on how to pour the perfect draught out of cans. Thereafter, guests will do the pour themselves as part of the education process. They can also see and touch the Guinness widget and take a 360-selfie video with a can or glass of the Guinness Draught.

In the first four days, House of Guinness welcomed around 2,000 visitors. As of 26 July, more than 6,000 consumers have registered online for sessions at the activation. Online and UGC during the first week surpassed a million views and the brand expects UGC in the second week to hit at least two million. On the PR front, Guinness achieved above 90% in media quality index, surpassing its ambitions. The brand has opted out of using advertising value equivalency to measure the PR performance of a campaign. 

Meanwhile, targeted media spend will be carried out, with above 60% focused on 23 to 31-year-olds. Of this figure, 75% is focused specifically on Gen Z. Over a period of nine weeks, targeted ads will also be served to approximately 40% of non-Muslim consumers aged 21 and above.

"What we’re doing is planting the seeds for the next 20 years," said Lim. He explained that there is a whole generation of drinks who - on the surface - are unable to tell the difference between Guinness Draught in a can and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.

Sambal Lab's founder and brand leadership director, Balreet Gill, added that the team wanted to deliver an educational experience that Guinness has never done before. "Gen Zs are amazing storytellers and love sharing experiences. Intrinsically, however, all digital natives long for face-to-face experiences. The screen in front of you can only go so far. The House of Guinness exists to connect and engage with the relevant crowd while building powerful brand empathy and consideration," she said.

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