Client: Mike's Hard Lemonade - mike's light launch

Sector: Consumer products and brand marketing

Challenge

In the spring of 2004, the Marc Anthony Group, the makers of mike's hard lemonade, launched a new low-carb, low-calorie ready-to-drink beverage called mike's light. To support the launch, they tasked Argyle Rowland Communications with developing and executing a national public relations campaign to help drive sales before the critical May 24 long weekend.

Strategy

Based on our research and analysis, we developed the following core strategies:

Emphasize functional benefits

To differentiate mike's light from its competitors - most of whom focused exclusively on the low-carb message - Argyle told a broader story about consumer desire for a more balanced approach: great taste, low in carbs and low in calories.

Dare to compare

The foundation of our media and consumer materials was a chart comparing the carb and calorie counts of the major beverages in the category.

Build on mike's brand equity

To enhance interest in the story, Argyle positioned mike's light as a new example of leadership from the company whose original mike's product created the "ready-to-drink" beverage category in 1996.

Different media, different angles

We crafted different story angles for consumer print media, broadcast media and business media.

Tactics

Our campaign had four key components:

National trade launch event

Argyle developed a thematic event at Toronto's flagship liquor store to celebrate the arrival of summer and the launch of mike's light.  

Consumer field marketing

Argyle deployed "mike's light cottage crews" around Toronto to support the launch. Backyard barbeque scenes were set up at major intersections to promote mike's light and educate consumers about the carb and calorie content of mike's vs. other popular beverages.

National media relations

Argyle conducted aggressive media outreach to encourage product trial and product reviews. We also conducted an aggressive business media push.

Broadcast media tour

Third-party endorsement carries a lot of weight with Canadian consumers, and added credibility to any product launch campaign. Argyle worked with one of Canada's leading food trends experts, who spoke to media about trends in food and entertaining.

Results

The campaign earned 26 branded stories in a wide range of business, consumer, trade and local media, reaching an estimated audience of more than ten million Canadians.

The "mike's light cottage crew" teams were successful in encouraging product trial, as 271 surveys conducted indicated that 81% were interested in trying mike's light as a result of the street promotion in the company's #1 market. The teams were also successful at educating consumers about the benefits of mike's light through the distribution promotional material.

In 2005, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)   honoured the mike's light campaign for communications excellence in media relations.