Stella Artois wants drinkers to 'uncancel' Leap Day plans

Brief:

Stella Artois is offering rebates on beer purchases to urge consumers to spend Leap Day as an extra 24-hour period for sharing time with friends and family over a beer instead of staying at home alone, per information shared with Mobile Marketer.
Stella released a short film that highlights how people can "uncancel" those plans and socialize in person. Digital OOH placements feature a QR code that activates the film. The Anheuser-Busch beer brand set aside $366,000 — or $1,000 for every day of a Leap Year — in a Stella Leap Day Fund to distribute to people who submit their purchase receipts online.
To claim their portion of the fund, Twitter users can share the short film with their followers in a post that has the #UnCancelPromo hashtag. They also must tag someone over age 21 with whom they want to spend Leap Day. Fans must follow the @StellaArtois account and make a purchase on Feb. 26-29 to participate.

Insight:

Stella's campaign for Leap Day relies on Twitter to encourage participation while also subverting social media's effect of isolating people from their friends and family. The cash rebate and short film that dramatizes how much fun people have when they don't cancel plans support that idea. By urging people to share the campaign on Twitter, Stella Artois can extend its reach and spur viral growth among younger adults who are a key consumer group.

The theme of Stella's campaign is consistent with those of other alcohol brands that are urging people to put down their smartphones and enjoy conversing with others in person. Jameson Irish Whiskey this month challenged Twitter users to tweet the name of their favorite bar along with the #MeetMeAtTheBar hashtag for a chance to win a St. Patrick's Day party in their state. Similarly, Miller Lite last fall urged fans to unfollow its own social media accounts and have a beer in person with friends.

Stella's Leap Day campaign follows the brand's Valentine's Day promotion that urged consumers to slow down and enjoy the good life often associated with old Europe. The "The Life Artois" effort included two animated ads showing how couples can spend romantic time together, and experiential activations such as an interactive wall in select cities. Stella also collaborated with women-first dating app Bumble on The Stella Heartois Experience, a dinner hosted by influencer Olivia Culpo. Experiential marketing has become more popular among brands seeking to cut through ad clutter and connect with younger audiences who are difficult to reach through traditional channels.

Leap Day, which happens every four years, offers brands an opportunity for one-off campaigns. This year, Krispy Kreme introduced nationwide delivery with a social media campaign that offers free doughnuts to hospitals and parents that deliver babies on Leap Day.