Miller Lite sought to leverage the launch of its new Vortex bottle in select Southeastern U.S. markets to boost Miller Lite’s sales during key summer months.
By the campaign’s end, Miller Lite enjoyed more than a tenfold return on its investment in publicity.
Issue:
When Miller Lite introduced its new Vortex bottle, with special grooves inside the bottleneck to make the “great pilsner taste flow right out,” MillerCoors hired AXIA Public Relations as part of its six-market “Vortex Day,” a Southeast product-launch and test-market campaign. MillerCoors challenged AXIA to increase consumer awareness of the Vortex.
Ideas:
AXIA aimed to localize the Vortex campaign among select venues with high Miller Lite sales. AXIA created publicity using a celebrity, local media and a charity, partnering with the Audubon Society to aid cleanup efforts during the highly publicized Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Overall, the Vortex promotional team included Miller Lite girls, Miller Lite executives, a Miller Lite-wrapped Cadillac Escalade, a celebrity and a charitable angle.
In each market, MillerCoors intended to promote the Vortex, encourage consumers to drink Miller Lite and reward consumers already drinking from a Vortex bottle on the day of the event. MillerCoors also sought news placement for its product, charitable cause and celebrity in local media outlets.
Relationships:
Through its set of contacts, AXIA presented options for celebrities who could work with the promotional team. AXIA also used its vast database to ensure the new Vortex product, promotion, celebrity and charity angle earned exhaustive media coverage.
AXIA created Vortex social media channels including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, updating the sites regularly with details about media appearances, fan participation and photos. On the day of the event, AXIA invited a local micro-celebrity blogger to join the experience, while updating online followers, and encouraging them to come and join the promotion.
Results:
AXIA promoted the Vortex bottle at Miller Lite’s top-selling retail stores and restaurant venues in each target metropolitan market. During the week, AXIA distributed a news release and pitches to target media outlets, including print, online, radio and television. The public relations agency anticipated that news coverage on local morning shows and during the day would increase the amount of consumers attending Miller Lite’s evening events.
The agency connected with key Miller Lite accounts and secured multiple news interviews during the day between and on location of the site visits. Outreach to the media earned successful coverage in each market, including interviews on every local TV station and newspaper articles that presented business angles on Miller Lite’s new product and summer beer sales.
In each market, MillerCoors donated more than $2,000 to the Audubon Society for oil-spill cleanup efforts, by contributing $1 for every autograph signed by the celebrity and $2 for every person caught drinking a Vortex bottle. Miller Lite also held a free-beer-for-a-year giveaway at each promotional stop.
For its investment, AXIA returned more than 10 times MillerCoor’s investment in public relations services with positive earned news and social media coverage, based on advertising equivalencies, for Miller Lite during the campaign. And the client proclaimed the campaign a huge success.
