Independent craft brewer BrewDog is supporting its flagship beer, Punk IPA, with a series of ‘Punk State’ activations across key UK cities this summer.

The campaign, created by brand experience agency Amplify, kicked off last week with the Scottish brewer setting up an independent ‘Punk State’ in Manchester city centre, complete with checkpoints, where Mancunians were able to get free cans of Punk IPA.

Over the next four weeks, BrewDog’s Punk State will be declared in Bristol (19^th-22^nd July), Birmingham (26^th-29^th July) and Liverpool (3^rd-6^th August).

Punk IPA has been the best-selling craft beer in UK supermarkets for the last three years. In just over a decade, the Aberdeenshire brewer has transformed from two men and a dog brewing small batches in a garage, to shipping a record 65 million bottles of beer to over 60 countries annually. This growth has been powered by its record-breaking ‘Equity for Punks’ crowdfunding initiative, which has seen the brewery raise over £60 million since 2009 from more than 82,000 passionate craft beer fans across the globe.

BrewDog set up its Manchester Punk State with a ‘roadblock’ at Spinningfields on Friday 13^th and Saturday 14^th of July. Visitors to the State were issued with a Punk Passport and visa stamp and a cold can of Punk. Foot-operated can crushers were available on site, in compliance with the brewery’s no-wastage policy.

From 3.00pm on Thursday 12^th July, Mancunians who tweeted @BrewDog using the hashtag #PunkState with their reason why they should receive free beer were in with a chance to get cases of free cases of cold Punk IPA dropped off by BrewDog’s street team and its chilled vans. The #PunkState tour ran until 9pm on Sunday 15^th July.

In addition to the roadblock and beer drop offs, from Thursday 12^th July to Saturday 14^th July, Mancunians were able to enjoy Punk IPA across the city. The brewery hopes this ‘mass conversion’ exercise will bring in new long-term supporters and advocates of the craft beer movement.
Over 30 venues participated in Punk State.

BrewDog launched its first Manchester bar on Peter Street in 2012 with a ‘crap beer amnesty’- allowing Mancunians to swap a can of mainstream lager for a Punk IPA. Over 300 cans were swapped at launch, and the surrendered cans were destroyed and recycled. Later this year, the brewery will open its second bar in Manchester in the University Green development. The site will feature an on-site BrewPub that will produce small-batch beers exclusively for the bar.

BrewDog’s cofounder James Watt says: “Punk State is the culmination of the craft beer revolution. We are putting Punk IPA directly into the hands of the masses and placing faceless megabreweries on notice. Manchester has been one of the cradles of the UK’s ever-growing craft beer movement and we hope Punk State helps add to the ranks of the passionate fans.”

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Specialist ski airline Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) ran a one-day experiential campaign at King’s Cross station last week, bringing a powder day to London and encouraging commuters to dig out their salopettes and book flights to the Alps.

Designed by creative agency Space, the activation saw an interactive billboard delivering on-demand snow when prompted on twitter with #SnowNow. The experiential campaign targets the typically late-booking UK market, aiming the encourage them to get online to book with SWISS, with the billboard underlining the message that “snow is only ever one click away”.

The integrated campaign featured the specially-designed billboard with a promotional overlay activated by the hashtag. Every tweet triggered a cascade of snow, while all participants received £25 off their next SWISS flight and the opportunity to win one of five pairs of return flights to the Alps.

Activity at the station was promoted by a series of Instagram influencers while a PR campaign provides exclusive competitions in London publications.

Chloe Ravat, Senior Marketing Manager at SWISS, said: “The 360o campaign is a fun and engaging way to attract attention to our brand. The reactive nature of the billboard activity mimics how UK skiers typically book their holidays – online and at the last minute.”

David Atkinson, Managing Partner at Space, observed: “SWISS is the skiers’ airline, with more than 180 flights a day from London and free ski carriage as part of its inclusive fares. The #SnowNow campaign is the perfect conversation starter for SWISS, disrupting the humdrum of the London commute, letting us boost brand awareness and drive traffic online, as well as offering the chance to win a premium taste of the Alps with SWISS.”

Space is an award-winning agency with a client list including Heineken, Arla Foods, William Grant & Sons, General Mills, Eurostar, Sky, Coral, Bundesliga, UEFA, NBA and AELTC.

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Quaker Oats is running an on-pack promotion offering 10 consumers the chance to win £10,000 (or €10,000 in the Republic of Ireland) by submitting photos of their creative and inspirational porridge bowl or overnights oats creations.

To enter, shoppers need to buy a promotional pack and then either log on to www.quaker.co.uk/showusyouroats, fill in the entry form with their full name and email address, and then upload a photo of their inspirational bowl of porridge or Overnight Oats. Alternatively, they can log on to Facebook and comment underneath Quaker’s Facebook pinned promotional post with a photo of their creation with the hashtag #ShowUsYourOats or log on to Instagram and upload a photo of their bowl of porridge or Overnight Oats with the hashtag #ShowUsYourOats.

There are 10 weekly prizes of £10,000 to be won for a total prize pool of £100,000. The first weekly competition went live on January 1^st, 2018 and ends on Sunday 7^th January, 2018, with each subsequent week’s competition closing on the Sunday, with the final week ending on March 11^th 2018. Entries received after that date and before June 12^th, 2018 will go into a final prize draw to win £1,000 cash.

Entries will be judged on practicality, a balanced range of toppings, a balanced range of flavours and visual appeal.

Consumers can enter up to five times a day, but all entries must be unique photos and created just for this competition.

The promotion is open to residents of the UK, the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands, aged 18 or over.

Quaker has linked with food writer Anna Jones, who has made a promotional video which is running on Facebook to promote the competition.

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Pampers has launched a nationwide #ThankYouMidwife TV and social media campaign aiming to deliver a ‘thank you’ to each of the nation’s 40,000 midwives for everything they do for expecting families. The campaign will also raise money for the Benevolent Fund of the Royal College of Midwives.

For every ‘thank you’ shared on social media with the hashtag #ThankYouMidwife, Pampers will donate £1 to the charity. In its first week, the campaign delivered 777,242,956 impressions, with nearly 14,000 ‘thank yous’ (7664 on Instagram, 5111 on Twitter and 1134 on Facebook).

Pampers points out that while the rest of the UK will be tucking into thei turkey, midwives will be delivering 1,400 babies. Whilst 80% of UK mums say it is important to thank their midwife, only 58% admit they actually do so. As a result, one in three midwives feel underappreciated despite putting new life into the arms of parents every day.

The festive 60” TVC was developed by Saatchi & Saatchi London. It features the maternity wards at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton and New Forest Birth Centre and showcases the diverse tasks midwives undertake, with passion and care, in order to help bring the most precious gift into the world: babies. It features real footage of midwives going about their daily duties with real families and is set to the Christmas carol, “The 12 Days of Christmas” with a wry twist on the lyrics.

The TV and VOD campaign, with media planning and buying executed by Publicis Media, will run until December 31^st 2017 and is also being amplified across social media channels including 5” GIFs and conversation cards on Twitter. A targeted consumer PR and influencer outreach campaign will be executed by MSL featuring Katie Piper as Pampers Brand Ambassador.

Earlier this year, Pampers released the campaign ‘Little Fighters’, which launched its Preemie Protection nappies for premature babies. The emotive TVC followed nine real families, their premature babies, and the hospital staff at the Neonatal Unit at the same Southampton hospital.

Caroline Gorrie, Pampers Brand Manager, says: “Pampers want to support the UK’s midwives for their important role in the happy, healthy development of every baby. After working so closely with midwives on our Preemie campaign, we’ve seen how much they give. In return, we want to give midwives a national celebration this Christmas, and all year round.”

Gill Walton, Chief Executive and General Secretary at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), comments: “The RCM is delighted that Pampers have designed a campaign to thank midwives for the incredible work they do. Midwives and Maternity Support Workers (MSWs) work tirelessly to deliver the very best care and support to women and their babies and often in difficult circumstances.

Walton adds: “The RCM now has over 47,000 members and some of our members do fall into financial difficulty. The Benevolent Fund of the RCM Trust is a charity that supports our members in times of financial need. The Benevolent Fund has little income compared to the need and there is always a need for additional funds in order for the fund to help more midwives in need. That is why every single hashtag used during this campaign can really make a big difference.”

Pampers is a part of The Procter & Gamble Company and is the #1-selling nappy worldwide. Every day, more than 25 million babies in 100 countries around the world wear Pampers. P&G serves consumers around the world with a brand portfolio including Always, Ambi Pur, Ariel, Fairy, Febreze, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Lenor, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers, Pantene and SK-II. P&G operates in approximately 70 countries worldwide.

The Royal College of Midwives’ Trust Benevolent Fund is a charity whose main aim is to support midwives and maternity support workers in times of financial need, helping to get lives and careers back on track. It works in partnership with the Cavell Nurses’ Trust to meet this aim.

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Hendrick’s Gin is offering London commuters the chance to drink a selection of cocktails and enjoy a cucumber macaron as they tour London in a classic Routemaster double-decker bus painted to represent a cucumber.

The activation is part of the brand’s “Ministry of marginally superior transport” campaign, which launched three weeks’ ago with a film on the brand’s YouTube channel.

The bus has been named H.E.R.B.E.R.T. – which stands for “Hendrick’s extraordinary roving bus for exceptionally refined travel” and the “curiously unconventional service” started on July 21st 2016 and runs until July 29th (except Monday 25th) The bus collects passengers from Victoria Street (Westminster), Southbank, Theobalds Road (Holborn) or Euston Road, (Kings Cross). Entry is by pre-booked ticket only, and the fare is £2.50 (although a visit to the website suggests tickets are sold out)

UK commuters are being invited to share their travel problems or triumphs via the Hendrick’s UK Facebook and Twitter, using #HendricksMinistry. The best – and worst – stories receive either a personalised message from the Ministry or a “delightfully different” gift from Hendrick’s gift.

Sam Bovill, Hendrick’s brand manager, said: “The campaign is aimed at bringing moments of delight and peculiar humour to the otherwise everyday, mundane task of commuting.”

Hendrick’s Gin, which has won multiple awards, was launched by William Grant & Sons in 1999. In addition to traditional juniper infusion, Hendrick’s also includes Bulgarian rose and cucumber as flavourings. It comes bottled in an old fashioned dark brown bottle like you would find in Victorian chemists.

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Kepak Convenience Foods has launched its biggest ever sampling campaign, backed with a brand-building, money-off coupon drive, under the slogan #FLAMINTASTY.

The initial £350,000 investment will target both gatekeepers and consumers, reaching almost 1.5 million people in its first phase.

Marketing activity includes store, student union and shopping centre sampling. In addition, money-off coupons will be targeted at students, complemented by a door drop that will reach more than 300,000 households.

Consumers will also be engaged by SMS mobile phone messaging, directing them to their nearest Rustlers stockist, with radio advertising and extensive social media activity also playing a key role in reaching consumers.

Kepak is also creating impact in-store with dedicated #FlaminTasty POS across all retail channels, boosted by cash & carry demonstration days to heighten retailer awareness.

Stuart Meikle, Channel Director for Kepak Convenience Foods, says: “We’re so confident in the flame-grilled taste and quality of the Rustlers range that for the first time ever we’re offering consumers a money-back guarantee if they’re not completely satisfied.”

Meikle adds: “#FLAMINTASTY marks the start of a sustained campaign to improve the perception of Rustlers amongst people who’ve never tried the product. Trial on this scale is one of the keys to achieving Rustlers’ growth potential as the vast majority of consumers who try the brand really like the flame-grilled taste and then go on to buy it.”

The #FLAMINTASTY campaign starts in the North East TV region in mid-February and will roll out across other regions.

The campaign has been created for Kepak by Blue Chip Marketing.

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