Case Study for Agency
03-1014985-092

Rainier Beer:
The Bit:
When asked right, people tend to remember the good things.

Making it Big
We de-archived and edited three beloved, vintage Rainier :30 spots and
created multiple POS materials (posters, stickers, buttons, table
tents, etc.), small giveaway items and a retro can for on and off
premise distribution. We created, pitched, sold and then produced
eleven 30-minute episodes of RainerVision, a Wayne’s World-esque
television comedy show hosted by two local talents (in love with
everything Rainier) which aired weekly on network television.
The agency also managed public appearance of the show talent “Tim and
Chuck” and the Rainier truck (purchased and outfitted with a six foot,
red, neon R) at local events, festivals and other high-visibility
venues.
We also designed and built www.rememberrainier.com to support all of
the campaign components giving consumers a central place to get
information about the ongoing activities of Tim and Chuck and
everything else going on with the brand.

Letting them say “yes”
We didn’t sell beer, we sold the beer as Seattleites remember it;
“allowing” them to rediscover the brand that they forgot they already
loved.
After the launch of the “Remember” campaign, consumers started to
interact with the Rainier brand in several ways. Tim and Chuck, the
hosts of RainierVision, were regularly out in Seattle-area bars talking
to fans. UPN11 reported that 25,000 people watched the fifth episode of
RainierVision, despite its late night time-slot (1:00 AM Sunday
mornings). More than 10,000 unique visitors went to the campaign Web
site www.RememberRainier.com between April and October. More than 1,000
people have signed up for the weekly “Remembership” email from Tim and
Chuck and hundreds of fans have left voicemails and sent emails to Tim
and Chuck. One Portland man even wrote a song asking the hosts to bring
RainierVision to Portland. We also introduced a retro version of the 16
ounce can was introduced, which stimulated sales. Best of all, after 17
years of declining sales figures, the Seattle market off-premise sales
saw an increase and have experienced a positive trend ever since.

“I gave them the impossible task: Stop the decade long decline of a
regional beer brand who closed a brewery in its home market, with
hundreds of people losing their job in the process. They not only
helped stop the decline in less than a year, but the brand is now
growing and being adopted by whole new group of consumers” comments
Neal Stewart, Marketing Director for Pabst Brewing Company.

Nike/Dick’s Sporting Goods

Key Challenge: Support the Nike brand while driving sales for Nike
basketball shoes and apparel at “Hooptown” in Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Since Dick’s was generally seen as a store for equipment (balls,
basketball rims, etc.), we had to show varsity kids that Dick’s really
understood the high school game – that Dick’s could help give them an
edge with every piece of gear they need.

Creative Strategy:
Varsity athletes are a tough crowd. We found through on-campus
interviews and small focus groups that for them, the style and
performance of their gear is a team consideration. They look for a
hook-up that helps them help their team, not make an individual
statement. Our program had to do more than tell the ballers where the
goods were.
The advertising had to connect with them on a deeper level, combating
predispositions and legitimizing Dick’s as a team-focused destination.
Rather than the typical hard-sell, through the positioning “Every
season starts at Dick’s” we put Dick’s into the players’ lives at every
point of training and competing as a team – right next to them on the
team bus and on the court. We were able to get the ballers to say,
“Yes, that’s exactly how I’m feeling.”

Executional Elements:
Our program included television, print, in-store POS and sales training
and incentives.

The Results:
We supported the Nike brand value of authenticity in a way that
repositioned Dick’s for the target audience and increased sales. We
more than doubled projected sell-through during the course of the
launch of Hooptown, and saw a 7% increase in sales in its second year.
In addition, we nearly doubled the AUR (Avg. Unit Retail) price of Nike
Shox sold at Dick’s. Following basketball, Dick’s extended the Nike
partnership into baseball.