This document proposes an advertising campaign for Founders Brewing Co. to promote their new Backstage Series beer called Big Lushious. The campaign would involve a scavenger hunt where customers can only initially purchase Big Lushious at select retail stores, and after buying it at two locations and collecting bottle caps, they can get it on draft at the Founders taproom. The goal is to increase sales of Big Lushious by 10% and build awareness of the Backstage Series within the target audience of young professionals ages 21-30 by 30% through participation in the scavenger hunt campaign. The budget for the campaign is estimated between $10,000-20,000 and would be allocated primarily to radio,

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Founders Brewing Co.
Big Lushious
Advertising Campaign
Ellen Packard
CAP 210-05
12/01/2014
Great Lakes Advertising Agency

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Great Lakes Advertising
Agency Philosophy
Our philosophy when creating Great Lakes Ad Agency was simple- create an ethical,
and successful agency that strives itself on serving its customers for the long run. We believe
that working hard to propel our clients’ brands and products will simultaneously build long
lasting relationships. In addition, we aim to bridge the gap between businesses and consumers
through our knowledge and expertise in creating creative and memorable ad campaigns. We
are here to serve our clients and our community.
Executive Summary

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Grand Rapids, MI was named Beer City USA in 2012 and 2013 (Ellison, Oct. 2014).
Home to almost 50 specialty and craft breweries, competition in the marketplace is fierce.
Differentiating a Michigan made craft brew from others of its kind is an extremely difficult task.
Within the heavily saturated beer market, Founders Brewery has consistently positioned itself as
a quality producer known for unique, high-end brews.
With an existing customer base and loyal following, it may seem that awareness of new
products would not be an issue. Although Founders’ is already well known, their new brews are
subject to the same obstacles that smaller, lesser known breweries are. Customers are faced
with an unlimited supply of options as Founders’ 50 plus competitors are releasing new products
every week. Founders is faced with the challenge of gaining the customer’s attention for its
limited release ‘Backstage Series’.
A solution to this problem is not a simple one, and requires a unique campaign that will
communicate Founders’ core values and appeal to their existing fan base as well as new ones.
In order to bring attention to the next product in the Backstage Series, a scavenger hunt style
campaign would be implemented in order to prompt customer involvement as well as increase
sales of the new product.
This campaign would target the following audiences
● Men and women 21 and older in the Greater Grand Rapids area with disposable income
● Young professionals seeking quality products that perpetuate a high-status image
● Beer connoisseurs interested in tasting new brews with unique flavor profiles
The campaign would be announced one month prior to the beer’s release date in order
to gain attention and prompt involvement. At the time of release, consumers would only be able
to buy the new product, Big Lushious, in select retail liquor stores in the area. This limited
release would continue for one month as customers travel around the area searching for their
Big Lushious. After a consumer has purchased the beverage at two participating locations, and
collects two bottle caps, Appendix B, they would then be able to get the beer on draft in the

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Founders taproom. Participation in this campaign also enters the customer in a contest for a
free mug club membership. The exclusivity of this campaign will appeal to the target audience’s
desire for status and uniqueness. The tagline of the campaign, Be a Founder: Start Your Quest,
will also perpetuate the idea of exclusivity to the consumer.
The target audience will be made aware of the campaign through a variety of advertising
tactics including billboards, bus wraps, radio ads, and other outdoor media. Targeted radio ads
will also be used to reach the audience based on their listening preferences. Social media will
also be a key portion of this campaign as customers rely on it to keep up with trends,
happenings in their friend’s lives, etc.
The Be a Founder campaign takes inspiration from similar promotions like the
McDonalds Monopoly game. McDonalds has had continued success with this promotion and it
consistently provided them with returning customers and increased sales. Founders has key
similarities to McDonalds that are essential to making this campaign a success. Since they are
already known as one of the top breweries and have a consistent fan base, customers will not
have a reluctance to participate because it will be expected that the new brew will be
exceptional in taste and quality. The Be a Founder campaign will increase sales of Big
Lushious, increase awareness of the Backstage Series, prompt user generated content and
engagement with the Founders brand.
Background
Founders Brewing Co. has been in business since 1997. Dave Engbers and Mike
Stevens were the two men who started it all (“Founders Brewing Co.”, 2014). They both had
steady jobs until they decided to pursue their dream of opening a brewery. They quit their jobs
and spent a lot of time forming and growing their business. It wasn’t easy, at one point they

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were on the verge of bankruptcy, however Founders would become as it is known today- an
original brewery with well crafted beer. Founders has recently been doing better than ever and
the business is still continuously expanding. Yet, we believe that Great Lakes Advertising
Agency can offer and fulfill the need of advertising for their “limited time only” beers, specifically
Big Lushious. We will be reaching out to specific target markets to create more business and
raise awareness.
● Target Market: Young professionals (ages 21-30). Likely have recently graduated
college, obtained a job and now have some disposable income.
● Strengths: Original/unique brews, has a lot of good word-of-mouth advertising, good
reputation and an already established loyal following. Unique beer brand labels and
packaging design.
● Weaknesses: Very little advertising, higher priced beer. May be perceived by some as
unapproachable or intimidating, especially if someone has little experience with craft
beers.
● Opportunities: Economy is recovering and therefore customers will be more able to
spend money as the economy continues to grow. Grand Rapids continues to attract
young professionals, expanding the target market for Founders. Founders is also
continuously adding more craft beers and specialty beers on a yearly basis. Not only
that, Founders is located in downtown Grand Rapids, which was named “Beer City” by
USA Today (Ellison, Oct. 2014).
● Threats: Local threats are other breweries in the West Michigan Area. Founders is the
largest, but there are also other alternatives for their customers. These alternatives
include: Holland Brewing Company, Perrin Brewery, The Mitten Brewing Company, Bells
in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids Brewing company. On a broader scale, other
competitors could be the big named beer companies such as Anheuser Busch, Pabst
Blue Ribbon; as well as limited time only beers such as Oberon.

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Founders Brewing Co. is not only one of the most recognized and successful breweries
in Grand Rapids and Michigan. But in the United States, they have been ranked in the top
breweries in the world by Ratebeer.com for the last five years, and have several beers listed in
the top one hundred beers of the world on Beeradvocate.com (“The Ratebeer Top 50”, 2014).
The specific product being focused on for this campaign is Founders’ new backstage
release, Big Lushious. This particular product has a higher involvement than traditional beers,
even more so than some of Founders’ more well known beers. Big Lushious is a unique
product, featuring raspberry and chocolate flavors with a 7.8% ABV and is available only in
750mL bottles (“Founders Brewing Co.”, 2014). Because it is such an uncommon beer,
consumers may have to be more involved in the decision to purchase it. Additionally, the high
price tag of Big Luscious contributes to the amount of involvement needed to buy it. Big Lucious
will sell at $16.99 per 750mL bottle (“Founders Brewing Co.”, 2014).
According to Beer Advocates, a review website, Founders is a world class brewing
company and received a 100/100 on their rating scale (“Welcome to Beeradvocate”, 2014). It is
difficult to determine how people will feel about their new product, Big Lucious. It is expected
that the strong following of Founders enthusiasts will help drive sales of the product, because
the consumer already trusts that the beers they produce are quality beverages. The other beers
they have released as part of their limited release, backstage series, have also been successful
which leads expectations that Big Lucious will be as well. By May 2015, the brewery plans to
complete a $25 million expansion project that will double its beer-making capacity to 600,000
barrels according to an interview MLive had with the brewery owners. Founders is currently only
producing around 250,000 barrels yearly as of this year (Ellison, Sept. 2014).
“‘Sales just have not slowed-up one bit. We’re seeing one of the strongest years we’ve
seen in our history. Overall sales are up 54 percent over 2013,’ said Founders CEO, Mike
Stevens. Sales of All Day IPA, a session ale that Founders spent four years perfecting as a

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flagship brand before debuting last summer, is up 138 percent over last year,” said Stevens
(Ellison, Sept. 2014).
Founders beer and Big Lucious fulfill the consumers’ needs to relax, socialize, and
unwind. They produce high-end, quality beers that can lead to feelings of self-worth and positive
self-image, all contributing to self-esteem. In the end, with consumer’s demands being so great,
plus the expansion of Founders, the next step for their company is to define and develop their
advertising plan.
Target Audience
Primary Audience:
● Men and women of legal drinking age
● Young professionals with a desire to experience new products
● Working, with disposable income
This target audience lives in downtown Grand Rapids or the surrounding areas (Kentwood,
Wyoming, Rockford). Our ideal consumer is technologically savvy and enjoys trying new local
restaurants and breweries and sharing those experiences with friends and family. This ideal
consumer has an existing interest in craft beer and appreciates the value that Founders instills
in their products. The target consumer is an image conscious young professional who posses
disposable income.
Secondary Audience:
● Michigan beer connoisseur
● Appreciates quality beer and is willing to pay for it
● Closely follows Michigan breweries
An additional audience for this campaign will be the loyal craft beer fan. This consumer knows
more than the general population about the brewing process and what makes a quality product.

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The target audience currently thinks of Founders as a high quality beer, they trust their
product and expect it to be consistent and of good quality. Through our campaign will aim to
continue this current mindset while integrating the idea of the Backstage Series of a
continuation of the Founders brand.
The Backstage Series gives the target audience an opportunity to try unique flavor
combinations that break away from the norm. The Founders taproom gives consumers a place
to relax, socialize, and learn about beers and the brewing process. The exclusivity of the
Backstage Series and its limited release products gives consumers a feeling of uniqueness
within themselves, promoting feelings of self worth and esteem.
Besides the taproom, the consumer can interact with the Founders brand in a variety of
different ways. The product is bottled and sold nationally, giving the consumer access to it
outside of the brewery. Founders also provides touchpoints for the consumer on social media
platforms and through the Founders app. The continued interaction of the brand with the
consumer will perpetuate the idea that Founders is a community minded brewery that is able to
produce some of the highest quality beers available.
Objectives
1. Increase sales of Big Lushious by 10% as compared to the last Backstage series
release, Dissenter by the end of its release.
To let our existing target market realize that Founders’ Backstage Series beers is
valuable for what the money they spend on it. We want our target audience to know that our
product is worth the money and in return, to continue to buy our product. After the product is
released, we hope those who have tried Big Lushious will have liked it and will naturally start
promoting our product via word-of-mouth. We want customers to have a desire to come into
Founders to order this beer.

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We want our existing target market (those who are already avid Founders customers) to
continue to have interest and need for Founders Backstage Series including Big Luscious. In
the end, we want our loyal target audience members to increase the sales of our specialty
Backstage Series beers by 10%.
2. Build awareness of Big Lushious and the Backstage series within the primary target
audience by 30% by January 2015.
We want to increase the awareness of Big Luscious and Founder’s other Backstage
series beers among our target audience (young professionals ages 21-30) that may not be loyal
Founders customers already. Our goal is to make this product known to that target audience
and get them aware of the product attributes, so they come in to try it. We hope to increase
awareness of new users by at least 30% which will lead to an increase in sales among our
target audience.
3. Have participation in the “Be a Founder” campaign to reach at least 1,000 participants.
Participation in this campaign is a key goal because it encompases the other two
objectives as well. Sales will be greatly influenced by campaign participation because it is
required in order to win. Using this as a measurement tool will make it easy for use to determine
the success of our campaign.
Budget
● Mlive (online newspaper): Free, earned media
● Billboards
○ Large: $1,500-$5,000
○ Medium: $700-$3,000
○ Small: $300-$800
● Radio: $112 per 30 minute ad
● Facebook: $500 for Facebook ads analyzed advertising cost by cost per click

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● Flyers: $245.00 per 250 flyers, $342.00 per 1,000 flyers, and $386.00 per 2,000 flyers
● Social Media: Free unless ad is wanted for the website
Estimate Budget Total: $10,000-20,000
The budget would likely be determined by the Affordable Method approach because
right now, Founders is set on using a higher percentage of its budget costs on expanding, so
our cost would be determined by the extra budget Founders has left to spend.
Allocation of Funds
● Radio: 20%
● Outdoor advertising (billboard, bus ads): 40%
● Microsite/app: 5%
● Social media:10%
● Print (magazine, bathroom poster ads, flyers): 25%
● Scavenger hunt: 0%
Creative Strategy
The creative strategy for Founders Brewing and the release of their new Backstage
Series beer, Big Lushious, will involve communicating the message that Founders produces
high quality, exclusive products. We want our message to convey that Founders’ produces a
unique beer that’s high quality which our audience wants. The main idea behind this creative
strategy will be to develop a better image that will produce more revenue for Founders in the
Grand Rapid’s community.
We plan to do this by implementing a scavenger hunt as a tactic for the release of Big
Lushious. The beer will only be made available in certain stores for a limited period of time.
Customers will need to find the location to purchase the limited time Backstage Series beer, and
once they have purchased it in store, they will be able to “Find it at Founders” on draft (at the
brewery). Only those who have made the purchases in store will be able to drink it in the

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taproom. This will encourage consumers to purchase the product in retail/liquor stores, as well
as increase their involvement with Founders. We plan to implement this scavenger hunt through
the holiday months beginning at the release date and going through December (November 24,
2014 to January 1, 2015). After this period the beer will be available to everyone on draft at
Founders.
Positioning this product as exclusive and limited to the public will appeal to the
target audience’s desire to have what others don’t. This strategy will be a continuation of
Founder’s existing loyal customer base. Their loyal following will ensure that customers
will participate in this type of promotion because they will expect the beer to be worth the
effort. The existing fan base will also be instrumental in the promotion of the contest
itself, as the target market has a large online presence and participants will be
encouraged to share where they “found their Founders” through social media. We hope
this period of exclusivity and the “hunt” to find the beer will gain a lot of interest with
our loyal customers and this will carry over to new potential customers.
Key Messages
● “Find It at Founders” Founders is the place to go for high quality, unique beers in a
relaxed, approachable atmosphere.
● “Brewed for Us” Consumers should feel a personal connection with the Founders brand
and the Backstage Series because they are unique products that are created with the
consumer in mind.
● “Be a Founder: Start Your Quest”
Communications Plan
The communication for this campaign will be shown locally in the Greater Grand Rapids
area and in select parts of West Michigan. The extended reach will include Holland, Battle

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Creek, Kalamazoo, and Grand Haven. We will employ the pulsing method, with heavier
advertising and promotion during the the beginning of the campaign (as the new beer is being
introduced and the weeks prior to release date) and slowly tapering off towards the end.
The campaign and key messages will be communicated through a variety of different
mediums and platforms. In order to ensure the target audience is reached, several advertising
tactics will be necessary. The following initiatives would be employed for this campaign:
● Radio Advertisments (Local and Internet), Appendix A
Create general awareness of the Be a Founder campaign and encourage participation.
Our target audience is young professionals in the greater Grand Rapids area who likely listen to
radio during the work day. Additionally, many of our target audience members spend time
commuting to and from work in the car where radio is highly used. This will be an effective way
to reach our target audience initially to make them aware of the campaign.
● Outdoor Advertising (Billboards, bathroom signs in local businesses, bus
advertisements), Appendix C, E, F
Create awareness of the campaign and get people involved. These will serve as a follow
up message to the radio advertisements as well as reach those who do not listen to the
radio.
Outdoor advertising will be used to create interest in the campaign and reach those who
do not listen to the radio. These methods will also grab the attention of our target audience as
they are commuting to and from work and other events. The purpose of our outdoor advertising
is to introduce the campaign to the audience, while driving traffic to the microsite for more
information.
● Microsite/App
Provide more information on the campaign including how to participate, incentives, and
product details.

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The microsite will be used to explain the details of the Be a Founder campaign and
encourage participation. The full details of the promotion will be explained and visitors will be
encouraged to download the Founders app to follow along.
● Digital/Social Advertising, Appendix D
Reach younger members of the target audience and drive traffic to the microsite.
A large portion of our target market uses social media throughout their day, therefore
this is a good way to reach them. Social media will be used for creating awareness of the Be a
Founder campaign. It will also provide the target market with information on how the “quest”
works; it can in turn create awareness for the beer itself.
● Print Advertising, Appendix D, E
Create and maintain awareness of the scavenger hunt among existing users.
Print advertising will reach members of the target audience who stay up-to-date on
events and happenings in the area. The print advertisements will be another touchpoint for the
consumer that will make them more familiar with the campaign and prompt engagement.
Evaluation
We will evaluate if our campaign was a success by looking at how many people actually
went out and bought Big Lushious, as well as how many came into Founders to purchase it. To
get a quantitative number, we can look at convenience store’s sales of the beer, as well as
Founders’ percentage of sales after the campaign is over. Simply checking the sales for Big
Lushious is a great way to see if the limited-time beer is achieving the campaign’s objectives.
One way to obtain that data would be to conduct a benchmark test to see how Big
Lushious compares to other seasonal beers. This test allows us to determine if Big Lushious is
doing as well as its counterparts or if not, why. We want Big Lushious’ revenue to be equal to or
substantially larger than its competitors, so we need to compare the data of multiple seasonal
beers.

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Another method we could potentially use is an inquiry test. In doing this we can
determine how and where the consumer found our product. This test also allows us to
determine effectiveness of the advertisement, as well as analyze the specific elements of the
ad. This will really help us narrow down what specifically needs to be improved and what
attracts our consumers.
We could also conduct a concept test or a focus group to determine how our consumer’s
feel about our product. Obtaining more information from our consumers about Big Lushious can
only enhance our product’s potential. The more we know about what consumers want, the
easier it is to alter our advertisements to correctly achieve awareness and desire.
Another test we can conduct is a recall test. This will determine if our advertisements are
being comprehended correctly, as well as remembered over time a certain period of time. We
need our advertisement to be a constant reminder to our consumers to purchase Big Lushious,
if it is not effectively communicating that, we need to alter our campaign.
We also want to conduct test marketing to determine if our target audience
(professionals around 21-30) are connecting with our advertisement. We want to make sure our
target audience, on average, is obtaining more awareness/desire for our seasonal beer. The
target audience of 21-30 year olds are the main consumers of specialty beers, so if we are not
continuously increasing their awareness and desire then our campaign isn’t meeting our
marketing objectives.
We also need to analyze our digital advertisements as well. To do this, we can look at
the traffic of our microsite that we created for the campaign. We can look at how many people
downloaded the app, how many likes/followers Founders or Big Lushious has on Facebook or
Twitter. We can also analyze the multiple quantitative techniques digital media allows us to
have such as ‘clicks per thousand’.

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In the end, we have many different techniques we can use to determine the status of our
advertising campaign. In doing so, we hope to create the most successful campaign for
Founders’ specialty beer, Big Lushious.
Conclusion
Throughout our Be a Founder campaign we not only want to bring awareness and
interest to Founders’ new Backstage beer, Big Lushious, but we also want to communicate its
exclusivity and uniqueness to our target audience. The creation of the scavenger hunt will allow
us to reach the goals we have set while also engaging the target audience. Awareness will be
brought to the campaign through a variety of media including print, radio, social media, a
microsite/app and outdoor advertising. By the end of this campaign (January 1st, 2015) we
expect Founders will see not only an increase of awareness to Founders’ Backstage Series but
also an increase of sales so they can continue being a strong competitor in the craft beer
industry.

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Appendix A
Radio Ad
Our goal with this radio ad is to reach out to the young college graduates, as well as
other Founders admirers. This ad will help provide a short, yet catchy line that will reach out to
individuals in the car, area fitness centers, and the workplace. The ad will mainly advertise the
new Backstage Series beer, Big Lushious but also advertise the way to get the brew at
Founders. Our agency is planning on running the ad on 2-3 radio stations pending what the
budgets allows.
Ad #1: (Voice over) “Are you looking for something out of this world? Something that you just
can’t stop craving? Well, Founders Brewing has found your match… Introducing our limited time
only “Big Lushious”. Deep and rich in flavor with all-natural dark chocolate, a hint of burnt coffee
grounds and a kiss of raspberries, this scrumptious and extravagant drink is a sweet and sexy
choice. Details on how to complete your quest and find Big Lushious, visit
www.startyourquest.com. Founders, brewed for us.”
Ad #2 (Voice over) “Why be boring, lame, and routine by going back to the same beer on the
same day every week?... Be a Founder! At Founders Brewing we are offering Big Lushious on
tap to those founders who succeed the quest. When you collect two bottle caps from two
different stores of our limited selection brews you become a founder! Start your quest today at
www.startyourquest.com! Founders, brewed for us.”

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Appendix B
Bottle Caps

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Appendix C
Billboard/Digital Banner Ad

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Appendix D
Social Media/Print

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Appendix E
Print Ad/Bathroom Ad

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Appendix F
Bus Advertisement

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References
Ellison, Garret. 30 Sept. 2014. "With $35 Million Expansion, Founders Brewing Targets National
Brand Status." MLive.com. MLive, Web. Retrieved from:
http://www.mlive.com/business/west-
michigan/index.ssf/2014/09/founders_brewing_expansion.html
Ellison, Garret. 16 Oct. 2014. "Best Beer Town: Grand Rapids Wins USA Today Online Poll."
MLive.com. MLive, Web. Retrieved from: http://www.mlive.com/business/west-
michigan/index.ssf/2014/10/best_beer_town_grand_rapids_wi.html
"Founders Brewing Co. Brewed For Us." 2014. Founders Brewing Co. Founders Brewing Co.
Web. Retrieved from: http://foundersbrewing.com/
"The Ratebeer Top 50." 2014. The Top Beers At RateBeer. RateBeer, Web. Retrieved from:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/top-50/
"Welcome to BeerAdvocate (BA). Respect Beer." 2014. BeerAdvocate. BeerAdvocate, Web.
Retrieved from: http://www.beeradvocate.com/