Elaine Gillespie proposes a campaign for Samuel Adams to capitalize on the 2016 Olympics in the UK. She identifies three types of craft beer drinkers - enthusiasts, explorers, and loyalists - who seek variety but also a reliable option. Her insight is that craft beer can feel risky without a "go-to" choice. The campaign frames Samuel Adams as the large craft brewer committed to supporting smaller brewers. It launches a "Craft Beer Olympics" encouraging home brewing and celebrates lesser-known sports. Activation includes sponsorship of the Olympics launch party, a branded 6-pack with sample beers, a bus tour competition, and content through partners Buzzfeed and influencers. The goal is to position Samuel Adams as

1. Elaine Gillespie
Junior Planner
Irish International BBDO
elainedgillespie@gmail.com
ie.linkedin.com/in/elainegillespie

2. The Ambition
Build a fame gaining campaign for Sam Adams
incorporating the 2016 Olympics.
Grow sales of Samuel Adams in the UK by end
of September 2016.
Adoption of Samuel Adams into the repertoire
of UK craft drinkers.

3. What I needed to do
Understand craft beer drinkers & identify
an opportunity for Samuel Adams to
enter their consideration.
Then review the opportunity to see how
we can optimise the sponsorship of the
Olympics.

4. Who are craft beer
drinkers?
The Enthusiast
Hard core craft
drinkers, driven
by story &
variety
The Explorer
Looking to try
new things,
driven by taste,
experience &
recommendation
The Loyalist
Want a craft
beer that they
know they can
find with ease

5. Who are craft beer
drinkers?
The Enthusiast The Explorer The Loyalist
Selection
Frequency
Location
Motivations
ANTI ESTABLISHMENT
THEY CHOOSE THEIR
GO-TO BEER
CAREFULLY
THEY CHOOSE THEIR
GO-TO BEER
CAREFULLY
PREFER COMMUNITY MINDED BRANDS
AT HOME OR FRIEND’S
HOUSE
UNUSUAL FLAVOURS
AND AROMAS
LOOK FOR
RECOMMENDATIONSConsideration
THEY LIKE TO
EXPERIMENT & TRY NEW
FLAVOURS
THEY RESEARCH THE
HISTORY OF THE BEER
AT HOME, IN THE PUB OR
AT A CRAFT BEER EVENT IN THE PUB
WEEKLY TWICE A MONTHFEW TIMES A MONTH
https://anthonygarver.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/buyer-behavior-craft-beer-project.pdf
https://www.brewersassociation.org/communicating-craft/6-characteristics-of-millennial-beer-drinkers-you-need-to-know/

6. What connects them?
‣ They actively seek alternatives to the
big brewers like AB or Diageo.
‣ Craft beer affords them easy
opportunities to experiment and
express their individuality.
‣ Choosing craft beer helps them feel
good about supporting their
community and small businesses.
‣ However, all of this comes at a
price….
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35120401

7. …experimentation with smaller craft
beers brings inherent risk that has the
potential to affect a big night adversely.
My favourite
craft beer
isn't sold in
this pub/shop
- what can I
have?
If I choose the
wrong beer I
could be left dry
at my friends
house/I will have
wasted money in
the pub.
If I make the
wrong choice I
will become
unnerved and
will decide to
default to a big
brand beer that
doesn't
represent who I
am.

8. Insight
Craft beer drinking can feel like playing Russian
roulette with your night out. Craft beer drinkers
need a lower risk go-to beer that they can rely on
without sacrificing their beliefs.

9. Let’s not pretend that Samuel Adams
can hide its scale and convince craft
drinkers that it is small to be credible.
Instead let’s leverage our large scale and
availability and show how it, and our
absolute dedication to holding on to our
craft beer heritage, means we could and
should be that go-to craft beer.
Opportunity

10. Craft beer drinkers love
supporting the small
independents but get
nervous at the lack of
scale and availability that
comes with always
choosing a smaller brand.
The Idea
Sam Adams is unashamedly
a big beer that remains
actively committed to
retaining and nurturing its
craft beer credentials.
The Olympics gathers the worlds
best amateurs to compete at an
epic scale.
“Power to the little guy”
Lets celebrate the brilliant
things that anyone can do
when they do something they
really love.

11. Samuel Adams is a success story with humble roots, he was the
little guy at one stage and to this day actively supports other little
guys.
Reasons to believe
Craft beer drinkers are ambitious and successful people, they
see themselves as the little guy done good.
Craft beer drinkers want to connect with businesses who give
back to their community, so this is an opportunity to highlight
what Samuel Adams is doing.
Olympic athletes are the worlds best amateurs and are the
sporting equivalent of what Samuel Adams has achieved in a
craft beer.

12. What does this mean?
To show their support of the little guy in the craft beer community and create
fame for Samuel Adams we will create a rousing campaign which will sees
Samuel Adams as the big beer which supports small craft breweries.
Using the theme of the Olympics, we are going to create the “Craft Beer
Olympics* that encourages people to become craft brewers in their own right
and helps us to champion smaller craft brewers at the same time – using our
altruism to create affinity and adoption for Samuel Adams.
We will partner with Buzzfeed as our main media channel. With them we will
create a series of videos that launch the campaign and create new-news
throughout with additional content.
To create opportunities for content capture there will be experiential activity,
as well as off-trade and on-trade shopper marketing support (although that
might be ex-budget!)
“Power to the little guy”
*Working title only as we won’t really be able to call it this.

13. Activation
The Beer Olympics
We will hold a launch night in
UBrew, London to announce
Samuel Adams sponsorship of the
“little guys” this summer with the
inaugural Craft Beer Olympics, at
the end of August .
To get maximum reach, from then
we will encourage people to take
part via content distributed by out
media partner – Buzzfeed – and
involvement with other influencers.
Throughout the Olympics we will
create new news around our
campaign.
The 4-pack 6pack
Distributed in off-licences branded 6-
packs of Samuel Adams will actually
only house 4 bottle of our product with
2 left for customers to use to trial two
other craft beers of their choice.
Tapping into their need to experiment
and support the small guys with the
safety of the big guy.
A partnership with Shazam will also
be activated by placing scan images
on packaging and posters in off
licences and pubs. This will act as a
recruitment tool for the Craft Beer
Olympics.
Lesser known sports will be the
theme of additional content
promoted via Buzzfeed articles and
content on social.
This shows Samuel Adams
supporting sporting “little guys” too.
We will run a bus tour across the
UK, giving people a chance to try
the sports and take part in heats
for the for the Craft Beer Olympics,
where we will select the best brews
to be judged by Jim Koch at the
Beer Olympics final in London at
the end of the real Olympics.
Throughout we will collect content
for online consumption.
Primary Activity Secondary Activity Shopper activities
MEDIA PARTNERS: BUZZFEED, UBREW, SHAZAM, UNTAPPD
SOCIAL INFLUENCERS:@TOTALCURTIS, @HONESTBREW, @BBBT_BEBETTER,
@MELLOWMATTERS, @MORNINGAD, SCROOBIUS PIP

14. June - July BeyondSeptember
SET UP SAM
ADAMS AS
SUPPORTING
THE LITTLE
GUY
PROVE THAT
SAM ADAMS
SUPPORTS
THE LITTLE
GUY
CELEBRATE
SAM ADAMS
SUPPORTING
THE LITTLE
GUY
SAM ADAMS
CONTINUES
TO SUPPORT
THE LITTLE
GUY
Release
Buzzfeed lesser
known sports
content.
Craft Beer Olympics
launch at UBrew with
release of online
recruitment video.
Bus tour
announcement
via online
video.
Develop a campaign
which allows Samuel
Adams to continue to
support the little guy.
opening night closing night
Craft Beer
Olympics final
in UBrew.
Post Olympics video content
shared via social
Recruitment for Craft Beer Olympics shared via partners
online, 6 pack distribution
Release of Craft
Olympic
winners details.
Bus tour updates and information on lesser
known sports continually shared via social
A phased timeline.