Moosehead is reminding beer drinkers it makes small-batch beer, and that it’s not just the left coast that makes IPAs.
The “Tiny Truck” campaign, developed by AOR Conflict, revolves around a custom-designed mini delivery truck and its journey to bring the first batch of the East Coast IPA from Moosehead’s brewery in Saint John, New Brunswick to Toronto Beer Store and LCBO locations.
The campaign documents the truck’s stops along the way, while showcasing some of the best kept secrets in Canada’s east coast, from the world’s longest covered bridge to the biggest waterfall east of Niagara Falls.
Karen Cousins, director of marketing at Moosehead Breweries, says the campaign is rooted in the insight that while many Ontarians have a clear image of Canada’s west coast, fewer are aware of how differently things are done in Canada’s east coast.
Cousins adds that most beer drinkers in Ontario were probably first introduced to West Coast IPAs, which are higher on bitterness and have a bold, piney aroma “But an East Coast IPA is quite different,” she says. “It’s hazy and juicy with soft fruity flavours, and it’s super easy to drink.”
Regarding the mini truck, Cousins says its Small Batch is all about deepening its relationship with fans and giving them an opportunity to “discover new tastes in an easy-going, familiar way, so we saw this as a perfect way to literally deliver on that idea.”
To bring the campaign to life, Conflict worked with Moosehead to design the mini delivery truck and custom uniforms for its drivers, map out the road trip route, capture the experience of the journey, and develop the content plan to showcase it through a paid social media buy.
Conflict partner and creative director Niall Kelly tells strategy that the business goal of this particular release is to drive trial among Moosehead’s biggest fans, specifically in Ontario. A secondary goal is to get the product on the radar of more casual Moosehead fans as well those who might be surprised to know that Moosehead even has a Small Batch offering in general.
The whole road trip will come to life on Meta (Facebook, Instagram and Messenger), specifically targeting Moosehead fans. In terms of tactics, POS was not part of this project scope and is often reserved for larger brands in the Moosehead Breweries portfolio like Moosehead Lager and Cracked Canoe. However, East Coast IPA had its own end cap and Aeroplan points program in LCBO stores during its initial soft launch during the month of April but nothing more is planned for the rest of the summer.
The campaign, running until Canada Day, also includes a series of wild postings running now in Toronto. Kelly says that Moosehead plans to use the mini truck in ongoing Small Batch activations.
Media Experts led the media buy for social across Ontario and Atlantic Canada and supported Wild Postings across Toronto.
“Since this is a new product launch for a brand with much smaller volume, it’s a bit of a test to see how effective we can be when we get very focused (market and target),” Kelly says. “If the brand does well, it will likely get more marketing dollars to support it in the future.”
This project would be at a similar investment level to other recent launches like last year’s Moosehead Chelada.
In addition to the launch campaign, Conflict also designed the packaging for East Coast IPA as part of a redesign of the full Moosehead Small Batch product line-up.
