Yes, it’s st Patrick’s day! The one day of the year we all pretend to be irish, will actually stomach guinness and duck as barstools fly across pubs across the country. And for savvy brands looking for a spot of (boozy) fun, Ireland’s national day opens up a myriad of opportunities.
General manager at PR agency Red Agency, Aaron Crowther, says St Patrick’s Day is an ideal opportunity to create fun campaigns and conversations.
“For brands wanting to bring their personalities to life it can be a fantastic platform,” he said. “The celebratory atmosphere provides a moment for brands to show their ‘human’ side, drawing on its strong ‘social currency’. These opportunities are a chance for brands to create a personal connection with consumers and it can live much longer than the day itself.
“That said, participation doesn’t make sense for every brand, so you need to think carefully about whether there is alignment beforehand. For those that do participate, it’s important to acknowledge the celebration’s Irish heritage.”
With everybody else jumping on the St Patrick’s bandwagon, here at B&T we thought we’d jump on too. Check out some of the brands that have jumped onto the greenery for their own campaigns.
1. Guinness
It’s only appropriate that we start the list with the famous Irish beer that’s basically like a meal in a pint. Guinness wanted to pose St Patrick’s Day as the Friendliest Day of the Year, and actually made it happen in 2012 with the help of the Guinness Book of World Records.
The campaign had participants pledge to be friendly to anyone they met on St Paddy’s Day, rather than fight them in a wild, drunken brawl.
According to the website, 435,456 people participated.
Guinness are also well-known for their ads throughout the St Paddy’s Day period.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eteWVqVPcTQ
This year the beer brand in Australia – which is imported and handled by Lion – is helping those wanting to celebrate the day traditionally with a find-a-pub online portal. St Patrick’s Day is not just for the Irish.
“For those planning where to celebrate St Patricks Day tomorrow, we’ve set up guinnesspubfinder.com.au so it’s easy to find which pubs sell the famous Dublin brew,” said a Lion spokesperson.
Tony Jones, brewer of Guinness in Australia, added: “We know that many Australians love celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and enjoying a Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day is somewhat of a ritual around the world. Here in Australia we love using this lively, sociable event as an opportunity to catch up with friends, old and new, and get into the real spirit of the day.”
2. Tourism Ireland
Four years ago saw Central Station in Sydney taken over by a hoard of Irish dancers in a St Patrick’s Day flashmob.
The organisation has also recruited illustrious actor Liam Neeson to front the TVC for this year’s day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXifIS5pBi4
3. McDonald’s Shamrock Shake
Brought out in the 1970s, Maccas indulged in a little green-food dye and mint to bring about this beverage sold in March for St Pattie’s day.
In 2010 Leo Burnett created this campaign for the shake in Chicago.
4. ARN
The Australian Radio Network last year created a whole playlist of Irish songs for St Patrick’s Day on its music streaming app, IHeartRadio. Called Shamrock, the station was a collaboration with Tourism Ireland.
5. Berocca
Berroca in the US is preparing for hangovers early with its Irish offering.
6. Oz Mattress
Australian bedding retailer Oz Mattress are gearing up for some beverage downing, today posting this not-so-PC tweet. Clearly, they’ve been to Bondi Beach recently.
7. Pandora
A late afternoon addition, music streaming site Pandora also got its Irish jig on with a St Patrick’s Day playlist, as well as a number of Celtic and Irish songs.
Know another doozy that should be up here? Tweet us @bandt.
