Title	DON'T BE AN AVERAGE JOE, BE A GAY JOE
Brand	HARTWALL
Product/Service	HAPPY JOE
Category	B04. Use of Ambient Media: Small Scale
Entrant	HARTWALL Helsinki, FINLAND
Idea Creation	MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
PR	MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND
Production	MILTTON Helsinki, FINLAND

Name	Company	Position
Lauramaria Havu	Miltton	Director
Janiina Gustavsson	Hartwall	Brand Manager
Eeva Ignatius	Hartwall	Senior Brand Manager
Karoliina Masalin	Miltton	Account Manager
Inker-Maaria Ketonen	Miltton	PR Manager
Hanna Kinnunen	Miltton	Art Director
Antti Lehtinen	Miltton	Copywriter
Jimi Paaso	Miltton	Communications Coordinator

Why is this work relevant for Media?

Finns love cider, but it’s hard to stand out as a cider brand because alcohol advertising is extremely restricted. Happy Joe, one of Finland’s leading cider brands, wanted to show its support to Helsinki Pride. Since advertising was out of the question, we needed to use the one thing we had: our product. Happy Joe launched a limited-edition rainbow bottle, called Gay Joe, and became a huge Helsinki Pride hit. Influencers used Gay Joe to show their support for equality, media wrote about influencers’ stances, and consumers stored up on Gay Joe. Until it ran out before the big party.

Background

Finns are among the top cider drinkers per capita in the world. However, the cider category is decreasing, and it is difficult to stand out for cider brands. Especially when alcohol advertising is heavily restricted: alcohol brands are not allowed to use traditional advertising, or even directly activate public through social media. Happy Joe, one of Finland's leading cider brands wanted to reach out to consumers in a market first: by taking a stance and supporting equality and HBLTQI rights during Finland's biggest party for equality, Helsinki Pride. Our objectives were to: 1. create positive brand image on social media during a contested time when many Finnish companies want to show their support to equality. 2. become the top choice alcohol brand among Finland’s leading influencers and consumers during Helsinki Pride. 3. do all this without traditional advertising due to strict regulations on alcohol advertising.

Describe the creative idea/insights

What to do in a situation when an alcohol brand wants to celebrate equality, but alcohol advertising is severely restricted and annual Pride festivities are already saturated with companies’ and brands’ rainbow-coloured profile pictures and flags? When advertising was out of the question for Happy Joe, we used the one thing we had: the product. We launched a limited-edition rainbow bottle with Gay replacing Happy in its label. Why Gay Joe? Because gay means happy, also in the dictionary. We wanted the Gay Joe bottle to become the message and people to become our media. Through only changing a cider bottle label, we aimed to stir up conversation and share the message of happiness, love and equality.

Describe the strategy

Happy Joe’s most important target group, the Millennials, are a demographic beyond the reach of traditional media. Yet print is the only allowed channel for alcohol brands to advertise in Finland. Millennials are less price sensitive and put experiences over materia. And one experience they crave above else is a sense of meaning. They want companies to drive positive societal change, which has become an increasingly important criteria of choice for Millennials. Their active, self-expressive, urban lifestyle puts pressure on FMCG brands as their products should both fit their lifestyle, be extremely convenient and contribute to their goals by aligning with their values and supporting their sense of self. It has proven very difficult for companies to connect with Millennials. We took up the challenge and drove their engagement by creating both shared value and a product that provided an easy way to express support for equality and HBLTQI rights.

Describe the execution

A little less than two weeks before Helsinki Pride, bottles of Gay Joe went on sale in twenty select bars and at one grocery store in central Helsinki. Because of the strict laws on alcohol advertising, we had to rely on social media and word of mouth to tell people about Gay Joe’s arrival. Before the bottles hit on-trade and off-trade channels, we sent samples of Gay Joe to 40 of Finland's leading influencers. In addition, we ran four sponsored posts on social media and pitched the news to media. When a limited-edition batch of 12 000 bottles arrived in Helsinki, the crowds were already eagerly awaiting. To ensure product visibility on social media on the Helsinki Pride parade day, we organised a special brunch for key influencers supporting equality and HBLTQI issues. More than 70 influencers joined us to show their support.

List the results

Without any paid collaboration, in a country with only 5,5 million inhabitants, Gay Joe reached 500,000 individual followers through dozens of hand-picked top influencers, as well as on-trade and off-trade partners. Estimated thousands of consumers shared Gay Joe’s message on social media (public social media accounts add up to ca. 1 500 individual users). Key media wrote stories about Gay Joe, reaching ca. 1,090,000 Finns. Earned media reached ca. 4,200,0000 after one influencer disapproved companies’ involvement in Pride, but other influencers stood up by using Gay Joe as a positive example. The feud was picked up by the media, amplifying Gay Joe’s visibility. By changing just its label, Happy Joe provided an easy way to stand for love and equality and got Finns wish Happy Pride with a little rainbow bottle of cider. And what happened to Gay Joe? It was sold out two days before the big party.