2021 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

CHALLENGE
Mike’s Hard was the ubiquitous hard lemonade in the 90s and 2000s. But after its heyday, the brand remained quiet for a while, still selling to its core consumers, but not growing or introducing itself to new generations of partiers.

At the same time, the hard seltzer category exploded, with brands like Nutrl and White Claw completely taking over. And as the original hard, pre-mixed drink in a can, Mike’s couldn’t let that happen.

The goal was to make Mike’s relevant to a new generation in order to reach sales objectives in a very competitive category. But Mike’s is a party brand, and as we all know, in 2020 parties were cancelled across the globe. The brand would have to scrap a year’s worth of ideas for influencer-attended parties and events, and instead come up with an entirely new, digital way, to connect with its target.

And they weren’t the only ones struggling to come up with a new plan. The brand’s young (19+, don’t worry) target was suddenly stuck at home all summer, instead of being out with their friends, making the most of their prime partying years.

INSIGHT
So, with Mike’s unapologetically immature attitude in tow, FCB devised a 2020-friendly role for the brand – to make people laugh and have fun, even in the middle of a global pandemic. And, when the agency realized there was a second group of people stuck at home, lacking an audience – it knew it could make it happen.

Introducing: Open Mike’s Comedy – a digital comedy series that featured globally-recognized comedians, shooting the sh!*, and making each other, and Mike’s fans, laugh in the middle of a pandemic.

EXECUTION
The first thing FCB realized was that stand-up comedy doesn’t work without an audience, so it brought pairs of comedians together, virtually, to chat and answer crowd-sourced questions from social media.

Each episode focused on the comedians asking each other these questions, including sharing their “Hardest Laugh” and “Hardest Lemons” of their stand-up careers. Then, the team promoted the series on social media – with cut-downs, teasers, stickers, and GIFs in order to grab the attention of the target and get them to not just watch the videos but start using our GIFs and interacting with Mike’s more regularly.

RESULTS
The target loved Open Mike’s Comedy – it quickly amassed over 3.4 million video views, including an average YouTube watch-time of over four minutes, in a world where 15 seconds is considered “long form content.” Plus, the program grew Mike’s social presence by 28% across all platforms, meaning the brand now has a built-in audience for new content moving forward.

Even though it was a summer without parties, the brand was still able to introduce a new target to its brand, helping to double sales of Mike’s Hard vs. projection, the revenue indexed 198 vs. planned, and growing share 1.5 points higher than expected.

Credits

Creative Agency: FCB Canada
Chief Creative Officers: Jeff Hilts, Nancy Crimi-Lamanna
Group Creative Directors: Troy McGuiness, Jonathon Careless
Art Director: Sally Fung
Writers: Sara Radovanovich, Jason Soy
Chief Strategy Officer: Shelley Brown
Strategy Director: Shelagh Hartford
EVP, General Manager: Tracy Little
VP, Group Account Director: Ravi Singh
Account Supervisor: Chris Flynn
Account Executive: Ilara Ragno
Sr. Broadcast Producer: Sarah Michener
Broadcast Producers: Kristine Lippett, Jana DesJardins
Sr. Project Manager: Elizabeth Hooper
Project Managers: Cori Petit, Chad Macdonald
Illustrator: Nabil Elsaadi
Studio Manager: Rosanne Woodley/Kendra Plantt
FCB Editor: Vanessa Distaulo
Retouchers: Nabil El Saadi, Dominic Pimpare
Animator/Production Artists: Amy Brigant, Aspenn Richards, Nabil Elsaadi, Frankie Augusta
Proofreader: Ashleigh Smith, Zohrin Jivrai, Jayne Heaton

Production Company: Live Nation/MLSE
Executive Producer: Bryanna Kimens
Director: Bryanna Kimens
Editing House: MLSE
Editor: Mimi Vuong

Music House: Oso

Media: Vizeum
Associate Director: Chris Pallotta
Manager: Taline Erhadt

Media: Social Code
Social Strategist: Girius Cepinskas

PR: Veritas
VP, Creative Strategist: Lisa Kwong
Senior Consultant: Jessica Walcot

Client: Mike’s Hard Sparkling Water
VP, Marketing – Todd Allen
Director of Communications: Tamar Nersesian
Senior Brand Manager: Dan Kramer
Assistant Brand Manager: Kelsea Russell
Community Managers: Natalie Skocaj, Mathew Torresano

Live Nation
Promoter – Comedy: Monique Barbieri
Head of Brand Partnerships: Deirdre Molloy
Brand Partnerships Manager: Bojana Sparavalo

MLSE
Promoter – Comedy, Live Nation Canada: Monique Barbieri
Coordinator, Live Entertainment & Venue Marketing: Dusty Moreira-Lima
Global Partnerships, Music & Live Entertainment: Kendra Graham
Account Production Lead: Eric Dickinson