Dive Brief:

• Blue Moon LightSky launched a "Lighten Up" campaign in partnership with Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer, founders of organization company The Home Edit, per a press release. The effort encourages consumers to donate six items they no longer need or use in exchange for free beer.
• Through March 31, people who follow and tag the brand while sharing a photo on Instagram or Twitter of the items they're getting rid of will receive a $15 payment on Venmo to use on a six-pack of the low-calorie beer. Participants will be entered for a chance to win a virtual one-on-one organizing session with Teplin and Shearer. People can also visit a microsite to receive one of 330 free shipping labels to be used to donate the items to charity.
• The tie-up with The Home Edit comes as the Molson Coors brand looks to engage consumers who are looking to declutter their spaces after many have spent a full year at home due to the pandemic.

Dive Insight:

Blue Moon's social media contest promoting its low-calorie beer taps into interest around decluttering, especially as many consumers have been homebound for nearly a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The annual spring cleaning push could receive more interest this year as vaccinations roll out and a return to normalcy appears within reach.

"As we head into the spring and more optimistic months ahead, we want to help drinkers feel lighter, both physically and mentally, by encouraging them to reset their spaces, try new things and shed the weight of last year," Rose Osial, brand manager at Molson Coors, said in a press statement. "We enlisted the experts from The Home Edit to help drive the message to encourage people to declutter their spaces and ultimately feel lighter."

The partnership with Teplin and Shearer of The Home Edit, which has a line of products at The Container Store and was the subject of a reality show on Netflix, is a non-endemic partnership that could reach an audience that is not usually targeted with beer advertising. The chance for an organizing session with Teplin and Shearer demonstrates that virtual activations will likely persist even after the pandemic subsides. Along with an influencer partnership, the campaign includes a charity element, a tactic that has become increasingly table stakes as the pandemic creates greater economic pressure on consumers.

Trading Venmo payments that can be used to buy beer for photos on Instagram and Twitter could encourage people to produce user-generated content and engage with the low-calorie brand, which Blue Moon launched in February 2020. Interest in low-calorie beers and alcoholic beverages has surged in recent years as consumers — especially younger ones — seek healthier alternatives to legacy alcohol brands.