How Guinness redefined summer with a vibrant transformation campaign

Success metrics include shifts in perception, improved performance, and profile growth, and are measured through ongoing brand performance research conducted by Kantar.

Success metrics including:

• Profile: Recruit a younger and more female demographic by targeting individuals under 34.
• Perceptions: Create a positive shift in perceptions of target demographic
• Performance: Continuing to build on the momentum of 2023, achieving an increase in drinkers across the summer.

The campaign centred around the new ‘Lovely Days’ creative platform, conveying that any summer day or moment is perfect for a Guinness.

The Lovely Day for a Guinness platform was a fully integrated marketing campaign spanning TV, OOH, PR, digital, social, and influencer engagement, ensuring Guinness was top-of-mind throughout the summer. The campaign reinforced Guinness as a year-round beer, successfully shifting long-held perceptions about its seasonality.

The platform was also tailored into immersive experiences that gave Guinness relevance at any music event. From ‘Lovely Day for The Boss’ to ‘Lovely Day for Live at The Marquee’, nationwide pouring rights were leveraged with new Guinness bars that enhanced the communal experience as ultimate hubs for savouring a cold, creamy pint when connecting with friends.

Execution

At the core of this campaign was the creative platform 'A Lovely Day For a Guinness,' which positioned any summer moment as the perfect opportunity for enjoying a Guinness. This overarching message informed all above the line messaging, sponsorship communications and activations, while staying true to the brand's essence.

The integrated campaign leveraged multiple broad reaching touch-points to reach 18+ drinkers in Ireland to keep Guinness top-of-mind. While a targeted approach focused on under-34s and female consumers, using influencers, music activations, and social media to engage younger, diverse audiences.

Each channel was strategically chosen to ensure broad reach while also focusing on key growth audiences, successfully embedding Guinness into the summer occasion.

• Launch Event: A high-profile event at The Guinness Storehouse generated significant earned media.
• National TV & VOD: Built brand awareness and reinforced the ‘Lovely Day for a Guinness’ message.
• Paid Social: Targeted campaigns reached under-34s and female drinkers, ensuring brand presence on digital platforms.
• Media Amplification: Targeted social, digital advertising, partnerships and OOH to maximize reach before, during, and after the festival.
• PR & Culture: Earned media coverage and influencer collaborations to extend the activation’s impact.
• On-Trade & Retail Activations: Brought the Lovely Days message into pubs, bars, and stores.

The summer activity all led to the ATN festival, where Guinness brought its vision of a culturally vibrant brand to life. Guinness didn’t just “brand” an existing stage, it reimagined and took complete creative license from the festival across stage design and lineup to create ‘The Lovely Days Arena’, transforming the third stage into an immersive music and brand experience. This meticulous stage design, coupled with a Guinness curated lineup, positioned the brand at the heart of the festival experience.

By utilizing these multiple touch-points, the campaign effectively embedded Guinness into the vibrant summer music scene, ensuring the brand's presence was felt across all channels.

Results

Profile growth:

• No.1 recruiting beer for 18–34s: penetration rose from 17.7% in 2019 to 23.5% in 2024.
• +6% more female drinkers, adding 276,956 to the base in one summer.

Perception shift:

• Guinness is now the most recalled brand at Irish music festivals.
• ‘Great for summer occasions’ rose +5%.
• Meaningful scores surged +15.8 with females and +12.1 overall.

Performance uplift:

• 1,252,897 summer drinkers — 404,000 more than the nearest competitor.
• +457,197 new summer drinkers since 2022.
• No.1 brand share in summer, reversing a 10-year share decline.

But beyond metrics, Guinness reshaped culture. The Lovely Days Stage became a “must-visit” festival destination, featured widely in media, and helped the brand own the summer conversation. By turning what was once its biggest weakness into its defining strength, Guinness created not just a campaign, but a cultural moment that redefined how Ireland experiences both summer, and Guinness.

Reversing a 10-year share decline by turning summer into a key growth driver for the brand. ‘Lovely Days’ indeed.

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