Rouge River Brewing Company is looking to drive hometown pride – and a drink local sentiment – with a new campaign that celebrates the city where it is based: Markham, Ontario.
Called “That’s So Markham,” the campaign was developed with creative agency Us Communications and aims to cement the craft brewer’s ties with the city in which it is founded, primarily by highlighting and championing some of the city’s unique features and experiences.
The ultimate goal? To “appeal to their fellow locals to come and try out the brewery,” says Devin Bowie, ACD at Us.
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The effort is anchored by a three-minute hero spot that sees real Markhamites quizzed on local trivia while connected to a polygraph machine in order to prove they’re really from the city.
The questions range from identifying Markham-born NHL star Steven Stamkos to copping to buying a bootleg DVD at Pacific Mall, “a Markham tradition,” according to one of the individuals questioned.
“Jordan, the owner, is born and raised in Markham. He started Rouge River Brewing to fill a much-needed void for great beer in his hometown. It all started there,” explains Bowie. “How else could we let people know how much the Rouge River team care about the city and how deeply they know what makes it special?”
The campaign primarily lives on social – specifically, Instagram. It is supported by in-house assets at Rouge River’s taproom, and drives to a microsite that people can visit to answer Markham-specific trivia in order to unlock a discount at the taproom.
