Melissa WardEveryone does it: After a long day of work, household obligations, and more, the idea of cancelling plans to go out — and instead stay in with takeout, a movie or a good book, and your pajamas — becomes absolute bliss. Even more tempting when the weather is miserable out. But every cancelled plan is time lost with someone … and time is one thing that is impossible to get back once it’s gone. So for 2020, a year with a Leap Day, Stella Artois urged people to “uncancel” their plans for once and put the extra 24 hours to good use. To sweeten the deal, the Anheuser-Busch beer brand created a Leap Day Fund, and produced a short video to support the campaign.
The Leap Day Fund totals $366,000, to align with the 366 days in a Leap Year — and while the short film dramatizes the idea of receiving a reduced restaurant bill, the actual Leap Day Fund promotion functions a bit differently (but with the same focus of getting people to spend time together over a beer).
According to the Leap Day Fund promotion’s terms and conditions, consumers 21-plus can claim a portion of the fund to cover their Stella Artois purchase (up to a 24-pack) by sharing the film using the hashtag #UnCancelPromo and tagging someone else 21-plus they wanted to spend Leap Day with. Participants also needed to be following @StellaArtois on Twitter and/or Facebook, as well as make the beer purchase during the Leap Day period, defined as Feb. 26- Feb. 29.
Stella Artois even made it extremely easy (at least on Twitter) to take part in the promotion via the “Tweet #UnCancelPromo” as seen below:
Hit the button and your Twitter account is activated with a pre-filled tweet … you just need to tag someone!
Beyond the video and social media components, Stella Artois also had digital out-of-home ad (OOH) placements installed in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. These included a QR code leading to the Leap Day film, along with a countdown reminding consumers to take advantage of the extra time on Leap Day to make plans and tap into the Leap Day Fund.
To be clear, this is a rebate promotion, and participants have until March 14 to submit their redemption, so while Leap Day has come and gone, sales numbers are not in yet.
I like that this campaign really puts for the idea of spending time together with the people you care about (and drinking). It reminds me a bit of Chik-Fil-A’s gift of time holiday promotion last year, just a little less family-oriented (unless that family is 21-plus, of course).
Centering it around Leap Day is clever, especially since it’s the kind of campaign you’ll only see every four years. But what do you think about the Stella Artois’s Leap Day Fund? Drop me a line in the comments!
