After running a monthly Home Brew Club in Burton for Marston’s, we were tasked with looking at a broader campaign that promoted the brand to the wider home brew community. The specific aims were:
We quickly settled on running a home brew challenge to find the UK’s best home brewer via social and a dedicated microsite where home brewers could submit their recipes. The pandemic, however, necessitated a revised approach as any form of in-person competition was out of the question.
To get around this obstacle we approach the process from a different perspective. Instead of brewing beer for tasting at an event, we kept the whole thing digital, which allowed us to tap into a wider audience across the UK.
Along with the Marston’s Head Brewer Pat McGinty, we recruited a panel of external judges including award-winning writer and blogger Pete Brown who would select winners from the entries. The campaign started with recipe submissions. From this, the judges selected a shortlist of 20 brewers who would be invited to brew and send their beers in for tasting. Our judges then selected the winning beers. We partnered with Balliihoo, a home brewing equipment store, who contributed prizes for the winner and runners up.
Home Brew Challenge was a great success and allowed the brand to boost their credibility with a wider audience. Despite the challenging conditions, the campaign delivered against all of its objectives.
Home brewers from across the country submitted their home-brew recipes for the judges to review
Regional home brewing clubs and groups promoted the campaign to encourage participation
Over 38,000 home brew fans were reached organically
The campaign microsite housed information about the Home Brew Challenge and an entry form
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