Objective:  To launch and build the Guinness® Foreign Extra Stout brand in the UK.

Strategy: Target younger (25-35) Black consumers (esp. men) in order to build a base for the future. The brand is massive in West Africa and Caribbean, and younger Black British consumers may be aware of it through family and relations, but have no active relationship with it. By positioning Guinness Foreign Extra Stout as part of Black heritage and roots, but also as a part of contemporary life, defines a role for the brand as a ‘cultural connector’.

Campaign: A series of cultural communication vehicles, based on relevant events and enhanced experiences, with a social dimension allowing interaction, plus sampling of the brand, and with specially designed artefacts to add context, depth and value. Vehicles have included those based around photography (Seen), theatre/performance (Aeroplane Man), music (Blacktronica, Griots t’Garage), visual arts (Brixton Graffic Show), spoken word (Spoken Cities, Kin), fashion/style (Black British Style) and others including Notting Hill Carnival (Funbunch) and the Anglo-Caribbean Domino League.

Results: A very successful launch followed by continued strong growth. Qualitative research indicates much greater awareness and appeal of the brand among the target audience, and the relevance of the cultural connection strategy. Media and PR evidence is also very positive. Finally it is one of Diageo GB’s fastest growing brands, outstripping its targets in recent years.