PBR - City as a Gallery

The Opportunity

Pabst Blue Ribbon had a small, dedicated group of fans who wore PBR as a badge of non-conformity. The brand experienced a challenge: Their consumers were anti-corporate, and that included advertising. 

Sawtooth’s challenge was to make PBR irresistible to a larger audience without alienating their core target.

The Strategy

Our team drove across the country in search of what PBR devotees found so hard to resist in the brand. We went from city to city, and bar to bar — talking with consumers and drinking alongside them. And that’s how we discovered PBR’s true audience — consumers who reject the status quo.

We uncovered a unique, intense bond between PBR loyalists and those who chose PBR because of shared values, like authenticity, honesty, fairness and individuality. Our team also discovered that PBR is a source of creative inspiration. People couldn't keep from drawing it, painting it, sculpting it. We decided to mobilize loyal consumers’ passion to create bold galleries of their art — right in Nashville, TN, and Columbus, OH.

The Results

PBR growth in the first two markets — Nashville and Columbus — increased by double digits. PBR was so thrilled with these results that alongside Sawtooth, they’ve since rolled out the campaign through 15 additional cities. 

In all 17 cities that experienced this campaign, PBR experienced double digit sales growth. And importantly, they became more irresistible to an ever-growing national fan base, one city at a time.

The Services

✓ Category analysis

✓ Brand strategy

✓ Campaign ideation, creation, and execution

✓ Content creation and management

• Digital

• Social media

• Trade

✓ Measurement and analysis

✓ Data-driven analysis and recommendations