2024 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

In the highly competitive cerveza market, people didn’t have a taste for Sol. The Mexican cerveza market is dominated by two behemoths, Corona and Modelo. Their young professional target was gravitating towards these competitors instead of Sol at bars and patios across the country. As a relatively small entrant, their challenge was to redirect their distracted audience towards Sol.

The objective was simple: Get Sol into the hands and minds of more Canadians.

Humans naturally gravitate toward the sun, especially when warm weather is fleeting. Summer in Canada is unique, it’s the one season they can be truly spontaneous. All they need is the sun to make any day feel special, and as a country they try to maximize this potential before it's gone. This was a truth that Sol (meaning sun) could engage with.

They also knew that when consumers try Sol, they buy Sol. Their repeat purchase rate of 53% was strong in comparison with the competition. They had a great product, perfect for the summer season, they just needed to get more people to follow the sun to Sol.

Harness the power of the sun to guide the audience on-premise to try Sol, the Mexican cerveza that radiates positive energy.

In order to capitalize on the power of their namesake, they needed to be accurate. They used a software called Sun Surveyor that predicts how and when the sun will interact with buildings. This tech, typically used by architects, helped us pinpoint the best places for consumers to enjoy a Sol.

They used Sun Surveyor data to create location and time-specific digital out-of-home placements in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. The boards updated as the sun crossed the sky, directing consumers towards the nearest patio in the sun throughout the day. This meant they could literally guide people towards the sun to make the most out of any moment.

They built a microsite to provide by-the-minute weather updates for their partner bars across the country. 500+ establishments were sorted into their “Ray-Dar”, promoted with a paid media takeover of the Weather Network’s precipitation radar. Consumers clicked through to find directions to sunny patios where they could enjoy a few Sols.

When they couldn’t guide consumers on-premise, they brought a bespoke sampling experience to Canada’s hottest beaches and parks. They created billboards made of custom Sol-branded towels and invited people to lounge in the sun with a Sol.

They made Sol the guide to summer fun-times. While national on-premise sales were relatively flat with 0.37% YoY growth; Sol experienced 35% YoY on-premise sales growth nationally and 33% YoY growth in targeted city centres. Add to that 45,000 consumer impressions with over 10,000 samples distributed — they ensured that in Summer 2023 more people had a Sol in hand than ever before.

Credits

Publicis Toronto - Creative
Joanna Monteiro - CCO
Vini Dalvi - Executive Creative Director
Victor Yves - Group Creative Director
Michael Boatman - Art Director
Elliott Lewis - Copywriter
Nathen Ping - Art Director
Joseph Ruiz - Copywriter
Chris Hunter - VP Brand Director
Michelle Krawczyk - Account Executive
Laith Goldie - Senior Strategist
Erin Brittain - Group Strategy Director

Publicis Sports & Entertainment - XM
Chris Desjardins - Senior Vice President, Sports & Entertainment
Sabeeca Ali - Director Brand Experience
Amber Gott - Account Coordinator

North Strategic - PR
Chris Dionne - Senior Account Director
Stephanie Saunders - Account Manager

Wavemaker - Media
Nilofer Kassam - Associate Director, Media
Sarah Boodram - Media Planner