Foster's gets a robust digital push to promote its new avatar

Foster’s, the beer brand from SABMiller India, has hit the market in a brand new avatar that includes a new curvaceous bottle, refreshed brew and a fresh campaign. Ogilvy & Mather has created a through the line campaign for the refreshed look, while FoxyMoron has led the digital activation for Foster’s.

Available in two variants – Gold and Lager, the new bottle has a ring pull, making it easier to open. The new packaging also includes a unique thermo-chromatic label that turns blue at ice cold temperature, ensuring consumers the most chilled experience.

Talking about the all new Foster’s, Darioush Afzali, Director of Marketing, SABMiller India, said, “Foster’s is known as a unique Australian brand and with this new packaging and brew, it will emphasise our commitment to innovate. We have given a completely fresh and contemporary look to our bottle and are introducing the tallest bottle in the category. With a focus on all 4 P’s, we are re-introducing Foster’s with a refreshed brew, new packaging, competitive pricing and differentiated positioning of extra-cold refreshment for the brand. Our aim is to be the most preferred brand of choice for our target audience and turn their moments of boredom into a refreshing experience.”

The new packaging has been designed by an international team of London-based branding and packaging design consultant Cartils. Talking about the inspiring and innovative new bottle, Neil Vestrini, Creative Director, Cartils, said, “Foster’s is Australia’s iconic lager which is sold internationally. At Cartils, it was our job to respect its heritage whilst modernising this iconic brand and making it relevant to today’s ever-changing Indian market. Cartils new design endorses a stronger brand hierarchy by making the Foster’s logo more prominent within the main label, whilst the bottle shape gives a more dynamic and ergonomic feel. The placement of the famous Australian kangaroo as an embossment on the bottle gives movement and youthfulness whilst adding that wittiness associated with the brand. The stronger/ higher shoulders (which also follows the curve of the brands roundel) allows for the branding to be placed higher on the bottle. The addition of the snowflake symbol and silver gives the extra cold sensation the consumer will feel whilst drinking the new redesigned Foster’s.”

Elaborating on the through the line campaign, Tithi Ghosh, Senior VP & Head of Advertising, Ogilvy Bangalore, said, “The campaign was designed to bring to life transformative powers of Extra Cold Foster’s – transporting people from a mundane, low energy mood to a refreshing, up-tempo vibe. Extra Cold Foster’s also brings friends together to let go and enjoy every moment.”

This campaign is supported by a robust digital and on-ground engagement. Speaking more on the digital activation, Suveer Bajaj, Co-founder, FoxyMoron, said, “We started off by launching the TVC on Facebook on April 22, followed by an influencer driven campaign on Twitter on April 25.”

He further said, “With the new bottle launch, we had just one question for everyone, ‘#HaveYouSeenIt?’. The idea was to get everyone abuzz with the newly marketed bottle and have them talking about the key attributes. We wanted to get people to share their pictures/ tweets/ videos with the new bottle and sign off with the question / hashtag ‘#HaveYouSeenIt’?

For this, Foster’s tied up with top comedians, including Abish Mathew, Jose Covaco, Baba Sehgal, Ashwin Mushran, Suresh Menon and Rahul Subramanian, who released 20-second videos highlighting the new attributes of the bottle (the thermochromatic label, the ring pull, the newly shaped bottle) with the ‘#HaveYouSeenIt?’. These videos went viral on Twitter, resulting in massive engagement with people all over.

Bajaj informed that the hashtag #HaveYouSeenIt trended all India for more than five hours. With the help of user generated videos and a barrage of tweets, people went on talking about the amazing features of the bottle. The interactions were further driven by more influencers that got on board.