TRO won the Best Brand Experience Event award last year for its work on the Guinness Class experience. How did you come up with the concept?
We studied our target market – 25 to 35-year-olds – and set out to make Guinness the first drink of their evening. We learnt early on that these guys were looking for extraordinary nights out, the ones that they can re-live and share with their friends. We also discussed the best nights that we had ever had and soon agreed that they were the unplanned ones.
Guinness Class was born, an instant win mechanic with the grand prize of an extraordinary experience for the winner that involved being taken by private jet to the home of Guinness – Dublin – for an unforgettable night out with their mates.
How successful was the event?
The Guinness Class activity saw 240 brand ambassadors reach 85,710 consumers across 4,936 venues and 18 cities. This is compared to 126 brand ambassadors in 2012, across 1,000 venues in ten cities. An additional 45,965 pints of Guinness Draught were drunk as well as 81,496 pints of beer, and sales uplifts remained consistent across all weeks of activation and continued into the winter months. 
Independent agency Market Force completed mystery visits, on behalf of Diageo, to assess the impact and delivery of the Guinness Class experience. The flight crew team of ambassadors were scored 98.1% against the question 'did the team represent the Guinness brand in a positive way?'. Almost 98% of bar managers responded saying they would want the team to revisit their venue, due to the impact the activity had on sales.
Why did you decide to enter the 2013 Event Awards?
We knew Guinness Class was a strong campaign founded on intelligent insight and demonstrated through great results. It had all the hallmarks of an award-winning campaign so it was a straight-forward decision to enter it, with the hope that we might be recognised by the Event Awards, which we consider to be one of the leading award ceremonies in the industry.
What was your reaction when you won the award?
We knew we had created something special and we knew that consumers loved the concept, however to be recognised as best in class by your peers is always something that makes you proud.
Since the win what has TRO been up to?
Our TRO teams are currently busy delivering 2014 campaigns for a number of new and existing clients including Lucozade Ribena Suntory, BMW, Nike, Vauxhall, Pink Lady and Nissan, to name just a few.
Will TRO be working with Guinness again on any experiential activations?
TRO are currently developing activation plans for 2014 in the UK, including reactivating the legendary Guinness surge bar, which will be at Twickenham during the Autumn Internationals. We have also been approached to develop creative concepts for other key Guinness markets around the world.
Has the award win had a positive effect on the company?
Knowing that we are doing a great job and being recognised for it keeps morale high. In addition, each team wants their campaign to be the next big thing, so healthy internal competition between teams exists which again drives creativity.
What recommendation would you give to those entering the Best Brand Experience Event category for the 2014 Event Awards?
They’ll be in great company. The key things to demonstrate are the objectives, any insight, the creative, and the results.
How to enter Event Awards 2014
The deadline for awards entries is 21 May 2014. To find out how to enter, visit the . For the latest updates on the event, follow the Event Awards on Twitter at .
To find out more about sponsorship opportunities, email Jade Scaffardi or call her on (020) 8267 8272.
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