WORKS

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The member database grew by 564.8%.

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ROI more than doubled.

| The member database grew by 564.8%. | ROI more than doubled.

 

Business-Driven Campaign

The Mother of the B‑2 Spirit:
How Loyalists Turned a Beer Brand Into a World Champion.

  • Role:
    Brand Creative Leader

    Market:
    Malaysia

    Objective:
    Deepen engagement with loyal drinkers under blackout conditions, reinforcing Guinness' brand relevance and loyalty while driving measurable business growth.

    Key Actions & Strategy:

    • Conceptualised and led the entire campaign personally: hand-drawn portraits, personalised tributes, and direct mail execution—turning cultural insight into a precision CRM activation.

    • Created Guinness Appreciation Night, honouring everyday blue-collar heroes through a low-budget, high-impact activation.

    • Designed precision CRM mechanics, turning loyalty into measurable participation and long-term cultural penetration.

    • Personalised direct mail invitations to Guinness Appreciation Night at The Guinness Tavern—a hidden space known only to insiders.

    • Infused with cultural reverence: Wu-lin Da-hui (The Grand Assembly of Heroes), Mi-mi Ling-pai (A Secret Badge), and portraiture in calligraphy/brush painting, honouring members as masters of the Guinness experience.

    • Designed to turn recognition into loyalty: quiet validation over loud advertising.

    Results & P&L Impact:

    • Secured Guinness as the No. 1 stout in Malaysia, second year in a row.

    • Over 386 guests celebrated, despite only 150 spots planned.

    • The member database grew by 564.8%.

    • ROI more than doubled, all without mass media spend.

    • Strengthened client trust and positioned the agency for additional assignments.

    • Turned a quiet tribute into a global benchmark for culture-first marketing.

    • The first CRM activation to embed cultural rituals into a brand touchpoint—members painted into legacy alongside others.

    • Emotional architecture: recognition, pride, and belonging, not just transaction.

    Awards & Recognition:

    • World No. 1 Direct Marketing Campaign, Won Report 2005

    • OgilvyOne – World Top 10 Agencies, Won Report 2005

    • 16 metals across Cannes, Caples, DM Asia, DMA Malaysia, and Diageo Asia Pacific Awards

    Technical & Creative Innovation:

    • First-of-its-kind CRM activation blending cultural insight, personalisation, and ritualised participation.

    • Demonstrated leadership in integrated campaign design for long-term wins, creating a replicable system for subsequent B‑2 Spirit campaigns.

This is what happens when you treat your customers like heroes.

We couldn't advertise. Sales tax had increased by 26%, and blue-collar wages remained unchanged. The brand was cornered, but the drinkers stayed loyal. Even when it cost them more, they continued to choose Guinness.

So we chose them back.

We created Guinness Appreciation Night—a direct mail campaign disguised as a tribute.
No loud ads. No big media buys. Just one bold idea:

Honour loyal drinkers like legends.

They were served with an imperial edict—an executive invite—and Mi-mi Ling-pai, a secret badge with a secret password to attend the legendary Wu-lin Da-hui gathering: The Grand Assembly of Heroes.

We could only host 150.
Three hundred eighty-six showed up.
So we stepped up—and let them show up.

Post-event, each guest received a hand-drawn portrait with their name handwritten in calligraphy, an appreciation token, and a moment of pride.
Together, we honoured them—their long-awaited moment of greatness had finally arrived.

Expressing the brand truth:

Greatness comes to those who wait.

We didn’t buy attention.
We earned it—with respect.

The member database grew by 564.8%.
ROI more than doubled.

Not bad for a campaign that wasn’t even allowed to advertise.

But the real win?

We moved hearts.

This wasn’t a flash of advertising.
It was a quiet revolution—a movement powered by art, dignity, and belief in people.

It taught me that greatness doesn’t always come from a big opportunity.
It comes when you choose to see differently—and step up.
When your client steps up.
And when your most underestimated audience shows up with unwavering belief.

That’s what the factory workers did.
Their loyalty turned a quiet idea into a world-stage triumph.

The Won Report named it the World’s No.1 Direct Mail Campaign.
It ranked OgilvyOne among the world’s Top 10 agencies that year.
It won Diageo’s highest honour in Asia for client retention.
And across Cannes, Caples, and Asia’s toughest shows, it picked up 16 metals.

A quiet tribute evolved into a global movement, driven by everyday heroes.
This campaign couldn’t speak out.
But it was heard around the world.

  • World No. 1 Direct Marketing Campaign, Won Report 2005 
    World Top 10 Agencies, Won Report 2005 
    Best Direct Marketing of Asia, The Work 2006
    Best of Show Strategy, DM Asia 2005 
    Best of the Best Shane Weaver Award, DM Asia 2005 
    Dimensional Direct Marketing Campaign, Gold DM Asia 2005 
    Dimensional Low Volume Direct Marketing Campaign, Gold DM Asia 2005 
    Art Direction, Finalist DM Asia 2005
    Direct Marketing Campaign, Finalist New York Festival 2005
    Direct Marketing Campaign, Bronze John Caples 2005
    Retention & Loyalty Direct Marketing Campaign, Finalist John Caples 2005 
    Brand Building Direct Marketing Campaign, Finalist John Caples 2005
    Low Volume Direct Mail, Silver, DMA Malaysia 2005
    Best Retention & Loyalty Direct Mail, Silver, DMA Malaysia 2005
    Best Dimensional Mail, Silver, DMA Malaysia 2005
    Best RM Program, Diageo Asia Pacific Award 2005

Testimonial

// For me, the Guinness Hero was an outstanding piece of the show. I wished I’d done it. It’s a classic example of all the disciplines coming together to produce great work //

Richard Johnson
Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy, Saatchi & McCann
Cannes and D&AD judge