Hop Valley Brewing is working in partnership with Movember to launch a new brand platform aimed at making IPAs feel more accessible.

The campaign,  “Stash Heroes” is the first under the company’s platform “Making Space for Everyone,” which was developed by the Molson Coors-owned brewing company’s partner agency, Diamond, and is the first in the company’s work with this partner agency. Hop Valley says more work is expected from Diamond in 2024.

“Stash Heroes” sees people who can grow a mustache do so for those who are “follically challenged.” The brand is encouraging people to either find a ‘stache surrogate or become one themselves.

The community around IPAs has typically been thought of as daunting due to beer snobs and bold tastes, according to Olivier Lemieux, brand manager for Hop Valley at Molson Coor’s. He says Hop Valley sees growth opportunities for IPAs in Canada, describing the less mature IPA offering in Canada as “more niche than welcoming.”

So the goal of the partnership is to make the brand’s IPAs feel more accessible, with Lemieux adding that the new platform is deeply rooted in Hop Valley “brand ethos, history, our commercial goal and marketing strategy.”

Given Hop Valley is relatively new to the Canadian market, Lemieux tells strategy the company saw an opportunity to partner with a well-established non-profit like Movember to benefit from the attention it receives this time of year, as well as to raise money for men’s health. Lemieux adds that Movember feels aligned with Hop Valley’s “funky” brand tone, and that the partnership also helps establish Hop Valley’s Stash Series of IPAs, through an association via the word ‘stache.’

As part of the campaign, Hop Valley is also donating $25,000 to Movember Canada, with a commitment to raise or donate an additional $50,000.

“By partnering with such a staple non-profit brand like this, we are signaling our importance to consumers,” Lemieux says. “We are investing here toward our goal of becoming the number one IPA brand in Canada, with a total donation that is hard to match for our competitors [which are] mainly made [up] of small to medium local craft brands.”

The “Stash Heroes” campaign is driven by OLV and social, with the most attention paid to Meta. The campaign includes creator-led ads tailored to social channels. “We are aiming at being present where the conversation on Movember and the cause was being held, which is on social media,” Lemieux says.

Diamond developed the campaign inclusive of strategy creative, production and influencer engagement, with Wavemaker Global handling paid media.