Dive Brief:
- Pabst Blue Ribbon is celebrating Easter with an adult Easter egg hunt, per information shared with Marketing Dive.
- Instead of hiding eggs, the brewer will be hiding pastel painted beer kegs — which the brand refers to as "keggs" — around Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Tampa and Portland on Saturday, April 16. Consumers aged 21 years and older who find a keg can keep it.
- The Easter egg hunt will not only help to raise brand awareness in a fun and creative way, but also drive social media traffic. Clues to the location of the kegs will be posted on the brand's social media accounts.
Dive Insight:
The Easter-themed keg hunt is out of character for Pabst as the brand, which has seen a remarkable comeback in the last decade and a half, rarely advertises itself. Hosting an Easter keg hunt is a way for the beer marketer to be a part of the excitement around the holiday by playing into childlike nostalgia with the possibility of winning a grown-up prize.
The effort was developed in partnership with creative lab Callen. The "keggs" will contain no actual alcohol, and winners will receive a gift card that is equivalent to a full keg of the beer. If the hunt ends in a tie, the winner will be decided with a trivia contest.
Pabst Blue Ribbon, which was once seen as the drink of the working man, was headed towards extinction until a brand revival with younger hipsters. Between 2002 and 2012, barrel sales increased by almost 200%. While Pabst isn't known for its advertising, it has been known to pull larger stunts. For example, back in 2021, the brand paid people to put up Pabst advertisements in their own homes.
In 2021, Americans spent $21.6 billion on Easter, up from $18.1 billion in 2019. Compared to holidays like Christmas and Mother's Day, the money spent on Easter is much lower. Lower sales haven't stopped brands from trying to leverage Easter in their marketing. Last year, White Castle released recipes and branded merchandise around Easter. Peeps, a brand strongly associated with Easter, teamed up with other brands and launched a livestream series to engage fans.
