Each year, on and around the 17th March, brands around the globe look to tap into the luck of the Irish in the hope of driving sales and awareness during St Patrick’s Day.
Irish or not, brands of all sizes and sectors celebrate the big day with their customers in a host of creative ways.
This month, Account Manager Karlie France round up three of her favourite St Patrick’s Day campaigns that have painted the town green.
Marks and Spencer — Colin the Caterpillar
As an icon in his own right, this year Colin has undergone many outfit changes, one of which was for St Patrick’s Day.
Colin the Caterpillar had an Irish makeover featuring four-leaf clover chocolate pieces, his very own leprechaun hat and a scattering of white and green chocolate beans.
With 49,000 followers on Instagram and over 70 million views of #ColinTheCaterpillar on TikTok, Colin’s loyal fanbase was quick to engage with his new green outfits across social media.
The launch also secured a green splash of coverage in both national and regional titles including The Sun, Virgin Radio and Glasgow Live helping M&S to spread awareness of the new launch, boosting sales and further cementing the public’s love for the highstreet brand.
Spreading the luck of the Irish with O’Neill’s
Launched by our very own team here at spottydog, we supported O’Neill’s, an Irish-themed pub chain, to place green telephones in all of its 49 pubs across the UK. In the week leading up to St Patrick’s Day, the phones would ring to celebrate the big day.
The first guest to answer the call at each pub won a mystery prize, ranging from free pints of Guinness, signed Rugby World Cup merch and the big giveaway prize — a weekend trip to Dublin!
In addition to this, if you were lucky enough to be called Patrick or Patricia, you could grab a free pint at O’Neill’s.
Team spotty achieved a combined audience reach of over 138 million with this craic-ing campaign with a host of regional and national coverage, including a piece in The Sun and Wales Online.
Vault City Brewing — ‘Apple Soor’ beer
To celebrate, the Portobello-based brewery in Edinburgh, known for its experimental beers, launched a luminous green beer. Just in time for St Paddy’s Day, the beer was designed to inject some Irish into every sip.
The ‘Apple Soor’ beer was based on Apple Sourz and had the sweet-then-sour finish you get from a Granny Smith apple.
Over 50 bars and pubs across the UK stocked up on the green stuff, ready to serve to customers throughout the day. Customers could also drink it from the comfort of their own homes, with the first 250 online orders receiving a free shot.
Vault City certainly did paint the town green, receiving a host of trade and regional coverage in the likes of The Drinks Business and The Daily Record.
Planning ahead for a lucky 2023? If you need help coming up with seasonal campaigns that excite and engage consumers, get in touch here.
