So long plastics, cheers to glass bottles!

We made 80% of Czech population hear the nostalgic echo of clinking Gambrinus bottles with no use of TVC. 

Gambrinus - as a first big brewery in Czech republic - decided to stop producing beer in PET bottles on January 1, 2020. 

Single-use plastics are a burden to our planet and we can manage without them. In fact, we’ve had a proven alternative for a long time: the glass bottle. Moreover, the decision to ditch PET fit perfectly under the brand's long-term communication umbrella of “common sense”. 

Matter of common sense

Gambrinus consumers are simple men, working hard in order to provide for their families. They hate hypocrisy and overcomplicating things and especially hate being told what to do by brands. For them, life is a matter of common sense.

PET bottles had a lot of fans amongst them for their indisputable advantages - the practicality of the package, good price, and lower weight. 

In order not to lose these customers, this created an interesting challenge - we had to seed the idea of disposable plastics being obsolete into the minds of our customers without making them feel forced into changing their behavior. 

Making consumers a part of the decision 

As common sense guides Gambrinus to act rather than talk too much, we skipped TVC in the media mix. Instead, we teamed up with the NGO Ukliďme Česko. 

We gave consumers the chance to actively participate in a good cause for a sustainable future. For each glass-bottled Gambrinus they bought during February and March of 2020, we made a donation to remove one PET bottle from Czech nature. This partnership made the information attractive to the media as well. 

Moreover, we have accompanied this information with well-targeted print, online banners, OOH, and POS ads where we reminded consumers of a suitable alternative to PET. 

Make glass bottles great again 

As our message about PET termination penetrated the market, we focused heavily on building the image of glass bottles. Not only is the glass bottle eco-friendly, but its clinking sound brings back nostalgic memories in all of us. 

The pleasant emotion triggered by the clinking sound of glass bottles became the main theme for our hero video spot aired in online media channels.

We used three typical occasions to drink beer in glass bottles and turned them into nostalgic radio spots. Radio allowed us to reach regions and people who are not very active online. 

Social media allowed us to spread our message and manifest it organically. We took inspiration from popular viral videos and used their format on Facebook to break stigmas around glass bottles - such as their weight or need for advance payment for a bottle. For example, we presented the heavy bottle as a good thing - you get a work out carrying it.

Clinking sound echoed back!

12.3% of respondents spontaneously remembered that Gambrinus is the beer brand that terminated the sale of PET bottles (second mentioned brand had 1.3%). 

The campaign earned 194 media outputs with a high penetration rate and none of the mentions were negative. Most of the 81 organic outputs specifically mentioned the Gambrinus brand. 

We reached over 80% of the population with no use of TVC (the traditional tool to build awareness). 

Our social media content was shared over 5 000 times and added an extra 11% of organic reach. 

Despite not being a primary target, the campaign supported positive growth of +1.3 pts. in attitudinal equity (comparison before/after the campaign). 

The message and cause resonated outside of our target audience as well, mainly among women and people from bigger cities who are more sensitive to environmental issues.