Stella Artois today unveiled a new creative direction that both builds on and modernizes its successful “Make Time For The Life Artois” campaign by putting an emphasis on casual dining.
As casual dining becomes more common and the restaurant dining opportunity shrinks, Stella Artois is looking to shift with the market. While previously known for its positioning around restaurant dining, the Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev owned-brand is looking to utilize influencers and digital partnerships to secure its future.
“The opportunity that we have with the brand by modernizing and going after these new consumers is to really focus on driving frequency on casual food,” said Marcela Garcia, Stella Artois’ vice president of marketing.
The campaign encompasses a new TV commercial, digital, social, out-of-home, radio, influencers and partnerships with platforms such as Yelp and Uber Eats. The campaign will run for approximately 10 weeks, with the new spot, “Table Drop,” putting casual dining front and center.
Embracing a casual world
Stella Artois has long positioned itself as a premium lager. A significant proportion of its business has been rooted in restaurant dining, with nearly 40% occurring on-premise as of 2022. While many brands took a hit during the height of the pandemic, Stella Artois felt the restaurant shutdown particularly hard.
In 2022, the brand first launched its “Make Time For The Life Artois” campaign, encouraging consumers to ditch the virtual world for the real one, and to return to responsible in-person dining. While dining out has returned to pre-pandemic levels, take-out and delivery has become a new normal for many consumers. With this brand refresh, Stella Artois is looking to tap into this growing consumer culture.
“The truth is, the on-premise segment in the U.S. has shrunk and the off-premise segment has grown,” Garcia said. “People are spending more time at home cooking, having dinner with friends, and for Stella Artois, which is a brand that is anchored on food, it was fundamental to really tap into this opportunity.”
As part of that emphasis on keeping up with a new consumer base, the campaign puts a fresh spin on Stella Artois’ image. The brand is leaning into influencer marketing for the first time, selecting talent from multiple fields. While the brand has already partnered with people such as chef Roy Choi and basketball player Kyle Kuzma, it will be announcing new partnerships in the near future, while also strengthening the ties it has already created.
Additionally, the brand has partnered with Uber Eats, Yelp and Instacart in order to reward consumer behaviors. Incentives include earning a $50 gift card when consumers purchase a Stella Artois with dinner during the week on Uber Eats, or a free round of the beer when booking a table through Yelp. According to Garcia, this is an effort to be more relevant with consumers at home, not just on premise.
While an increased emphasis is put on dining at home, Stella Artois’ long standing emphasis on togetherness can be felt throughout the campaign, especially in its newest commercial. A lonely diner crashes through the floor of their apartment, falling into the one below it. The diner contines to crash through walls and floors, picking up dining companions along the way until a diverse group — all enjoying a glass of Stella Artois — is formed. While eating alone and at home may be more common, the AB InBev brand wants to stay true to the feeling of togetherness seen in prior campaigns.
“For us, this was a great opportunity for a brand known for bringing people together around the table to address these consumer trends and invite consumers in unexpected, authentic way to come together around the table and have dinner,” Garcia said.
Correction: This article has been updated with the correct nameof the spot, "Table Drop."
