Effectiveness in black and white: How Guinness supercharged growth in GB and Ireland

IPA Effectiveness Awards Case Study 2024

While the Covid pandemic threw much of the beer industry into crisis mode as pubs and other outlets closed for months, this case argues that 2020 to 2023 period was a golden era for Guinness, both culturally and commercially. Marketing played a central role in driving success in both Ireland and GB, where Guinness became the nation’s best-selling pint for the first time. This performance was achieved by opening up the brand to more people and more occasions, growing brand distinctiveness, and building a new media model. Evidence that communications worked includes increased net sales value and revenue ROIs in GB and Ireland of 1.89 and 3.22, respectively.

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Client Statement

Giles Hedger, Global Consumer Planning Director, Diageo

This IPA paper covers an incredibly successful period (2020-2023) for the Guinness brand in GB and Ireland. We have taken many lessons from specific campaigns featured in this paper, from supporting our on-trade partners to investing through crises, to making responsible drinking aspirational. But there has also been a more fundamental evolution of our entire marketing model to be culture- and community- first. We and our agencies leverage insight and data to fuel creativity with precision: both inspired by culture and co-created with communities, unlocking unprecedented reach and cultural relevance for the brand. We have doubled down on what makes Guinness distinctive (KBAs, values), enabling us to break rules and innovate instead of sticking to tried and tested, boldly reshaping Guinness for a new era.