Blue Moon is drawing a direct link between time spent online and unhappiness in effort to get Canadians to unplug for a bit.
The brand conducted research that found 73% of those under 34 experience negative emotions from what they see online, and that 55% of Canadians find it challenging to stay off their phones during social engagements. Also, 62% said they have a negative reaction when friends or family are on their phones around them.
These stats are being printed on coasters which can be purchased online ahead of Friday, the National Day of Unplugging, when the Molson Coors brand will asking people to set their phones to “do not disturb,” referring to it as “#MoonMode.”
“We want to remind Canadians that unplugging to be truly present during life’s bright moments, can have a drastic impact on how you walk away from an experience or interaction,” says Luca Garofalo, brand manager, Blue Moon Canada. “#MoonMode, Garofalo says, is all about disconnecting to reconnect, and that its coasters will do that by disabling notifications.
Blue Moon was known as Belgian Moon in Canada until last year, when its branding was brought in line with the U.S. market, where it is among the most popular premium draft beers in bars and restaurants. The premium product has been positioned as a “beer made brighter,” and for this campaign it is reminding Canadians to create real life meaningful moments that brighten people’s days, figuratively instead of literally via their screens.
“Brightness is central to our product and who we are, and so it only makes sense that we stand for jolting Canadians out of their daily routines and championing everyday bright spots,” Garofalo says.
Its core target of millennials living in urban areas are encouraged to tag the brand and use the “#MoonMode” to share moments of brightness on social media. Rethink, Molson Coors’ studio, Volt, and Wavemaker are supporting the campaign. Citizen Relations is providing public relations.
The #MoonMode campaign will be launching with video content on both paid and owned
channels. Paid media channels will be focused at driving mass awareness of the program to Blue Moon’s audience through boosting organic content on Facebook & Instagram.
“And since nobody knows about the need to disconnect better than influencers, we’ve also
partnered with a range of content creators – from nano to mid-tier influencers – to create a swell
of cross-country social coverage on Instagram for National Day of Unplugging,” Garofalo says.
According to Garofalo, Blue Moon continues to be an important brand within the Molson Coors portfolio and in the two years prior to the pandemic, the brand experienced +55% growth.
Last year, following the brightening theme, Blue Moon unveiled “Undrinkable Pints,” a six-pack filled with paints like “Orbit yellow” for DIYers to “brighten” the home and reclaim the homestead while COVID lockdowns were gradually easing.
In 2022, Heineken, a brand for which Molson Coors has marketing and selling rights in Canada, also urged people to disconnect, but because of overwork. Its beer bottle opener, “The Closer” used a Bluetooth connection to shut down users’ work applications.
During the Super Bowl, the Blue Moon brand made waves by hijacking the classic “tastes great, less filling” campaign, in which a dive bar fight between Coors and Miller Lite supporters ends with the sudden introduction of a pint of Blue Moon complete with orange garnish, gracing the bartop.
