Carlsberg increased its revenues after Hugh Grant “scandal”
By Max on Mar 7, 2008 in Fun, Pure Marketing
I believe we have officially entered a new era in marketing communication. The picture below clearly represents this new frontier.
This communication strategy is actually not new. It has been estabilishing for some time now but it seems that marketers are refining their strategy. Here is how:
1) The story: Hugh Grant was caught drinking and driving by photographers
2) The facts: there was a beer can in Hugh Grant’s car and a passenger in the passenger seat, either of them could have been drinking it.
3) The communication strategy: the “International Celebrity Photo Agency” (mmmh… I’m starting to be suspicious…) promptly made available a picture with a beautiful red cirlce showing a zoom in of the can. If you want to state that it was beer you need to show it’s brand…
4) Consequences: news magazines, which are always starving for fresh contents, love celebrities because people want to read about them (this is what you’re doing in this precise moment). They wrote articles about the story (not the facts) and showed the world that Hugh Grant had a Carlsberg in his car. Yes, Hugh Grant in the flesh!
5) Results: the whole world knows Hugh Grant drinks Carlsberg
6) Implications: I went to the supermarket and bought Carlsberg for the first time in my life. Why? Because that’s the beer that Hugh Grant drinks!
How many of you will do the same?
Interesting to note as well is the fact that the zoomed view of the beer is in fact from a different photo.
suspicious much.
Matt | Mar 7, 2008 | Reply
I’m glad to find your source. Good idea. I’ll become your constant reader and subscribe on RSS.
Dude | Aug 25, 2008 | Reply