Irish pubs are a cultural symbol for Ireland. Here’s how this brewing company preserved them!
I’m a fan of this strategy because it shows just how effective out-of-the-box strategies can be in marketing a brand, offering, or initiative. Today, I’ll highlight a campaign that proves just how effective guerrilla marketing can be in preserving a nation’s culture. Keep reading below! |
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Irish pubs are a cultural symbol for Ireland. Here’s how this brewing company preserved them! Ireland is primarily known for its lush countryside and rich cultural heritage. Across the globe, the island is known for its music, race horses, and perhaps most important of all, its pubs. Irish pubs are deeply embedded in Ireland’s culture. These places aren’t just establishments where drinks are served but are also considered a haven for the communities they are situated in. Ireland also happens to house some of the oldest pubs in the world. As a result, these pubs have become synonymous with Irish culture and have even earned worldwide renown! Unfortunately, not every Irish pub could afford to keep operating, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which negatively impacted the global tourism industry. With costs and inflation up, a number of Irish pubs—even some of the oldest—have been forced to close down. Heineken, a global brewing company, couldn’t stand idly by and see this happen. That’s why it set out to protect and preserve these iconic pubs from closing down in 2024!
The Irish Heritage Council provides financial support to places of historical significance like museums. However, pubs don’t exactly fit that classification. That’s why Heineken and its creative partner LePub (a subsidiary of the Publicis Groupe) came up with a way to give these pubs access to funding. How? By turning them into virtual museums! Pubs across Ireland were converted into digital museums through the use of augmented reality (AR) technology. Some of these pubs had decades of history, making them ripe for such an initiative. To make the conversion possible, every nook and cranny of a pub was scanned from fixtures down to objects found inside them. Then, the information gathered was used to create an AR-navigable virtual museum that provided users with information not only about the pub but also everything inside it. Doing all this essentially enabled anyone to learn about the stories of Ireland’s historic pubs like Toners Pub in Dublin, Mother Macs Public House in Limerick, and Sean’s Bar in Athlone.
To access these AR museums, all a tourist has to do is scan a QR code located on a plaque outside the featured pubs. Once scanned, an AR overlay is activated and visitors are able to listen to stories about the pubs and see the stories behind every artifact inside them.
What’s more? Heineken gave other pub owners the opportunity to turn their pubs into virtual museums as well. Since this initiative turned participating pubs into actual museums, these establishments became eligible for financial support from public institutions. Even though the campaign has already ended, it was able to help lots of Irish pubs. Heineken not only helped in creating digital museums but it also supported participating pubs in applying for protected status, resulting in over EUR 230,000 in grants for these establishments. A 20% tax cut on building maintenance was also given to participating pubs. Aside from grants, the campaign generated a 30% increase in foot traffic for the digital museums. Over 134 hours of audioguides were also heard and more than 70 Irish media publications featured the campaign. On top of these impressive results, the campaign gained attention from prestigious awards-giving bodies like The One Club and The Drum. Kudos to Heineken and Lepub Milan! — The success of this campaign shows just how effective guerrilla marketing can be, especially when it is used to promote, preserve, and protect cultural identity. Last but not least, this campaign showed how powerful tech-forward solutions can be when combined with a dash of out-of-the-box thinking. Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing! Do you want to know how this fast food mascot became a sports miracle? See it in next week’s article! |
Miles Everson
CEO of MBO Partners and former Global Advisory and Consulting CEO at PwC, Everson has worked with many of the world's largest and most prominent organizations, specializing in executive management. He helps companies balance growth, reduce risk, maximize return, and excel in strategic business priorities.
He is a sought-after public speaker and contributor and has been a case study for success from Harvard Business School.
Everson is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. He graduated from St. Cloud State University with a B.S. in Accounting.
