Inspired by their proximity and love for the mountains, Coors Brewing Co. created a five part video series-celebrating individuals whose passions lie within the peaks. Made from Mountains was created to showcase the restless spirits by sending explorers out into the world, courtesy of Coors Light. The first of the five part series featured Ruben Wu, a photographer who used drone lighting to capture breathtaking landscapes photos. Tapping into GBS’s social audience and Turner’s OTT channels, his story reached a large audience garnering an incredible response with a 61% VCR on YT.

Not everyone who is called by the mountains will listen, but those who do return to us filled with tales of wisdom, beauty, and awe. They remind us of where we come from—and what’s possible. Coors Brewing Co. opened in Golden, CO over 135 years ago, making the mountains and surrounding natural landscapes part of the fabric of the beer company. There’s a certain kind of reward for embracing the mountains, and that’s what we wanted to share with people.

To elevate brand perception, we dedicated ourselves to creating stories that celebrated these explorers, the men and women who heed the call, reap the rewards and emulate the spirit of Coors Light division by showcasing them. With “Made from Mountains,” we set out to:

Elevate brand perceptions of Coors Light and make people feel proud to hold the can

Celebrate those who have dynamic-ized thinking

To develop the video series we needed to find an aspirational individual whose restless spirit exemplified the Coors Light’s values. When we came across Ruben Wu, a photographer that is obsessed with mountains and dedicates his photography to capturing the splendor of the world’s highest peaks, we knew he fit the bill.

Wu’s photography and unique technique of lighting landscapes with drones flying above produces dramatic and distinctive images. Enabled by Coors Light, Wu could take on his next project, illuminating the ice blue walls of the Pastoruri Glacier in Peru, 16,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. In partnership with GBS, we developed curated content that was distributed via multi-touch points:

GBS O&O: social, .com, Apple News & email

Turner OTT: Hub on CNNGo and cut downs distributed on CNN, TBS and TNT OTT channels

Roku Channel: OTT

Talent Social: FB/IG, and IGTV

Brand Social: FB/IG

Our team contributed to Coors Light’s overall creative strategy by developing a content framework to captivate targeted adults 21-34, focusing on growth target of A21-27. By working with GBS, we aligned with audiences that enjoy micro-documentaries and short films, activated by breakthrough distribution partnerships:

Roku: A first-to-market partnership with Roku to create a branded Content Hub, housing long-form content developed with GBS and partners for consumers to watch in a lean back mindset on their TVs at home.

Turner OTT: Hub on CNNGo and first to market :90s cutdowns distributed on CNN, TBS and TNT OTT channels

Imgur: Developed promoted posts to drive additional reach of key GBS content with Imgur’s unique audience

During the month of May, we worked directly with Courageous Studios, branded content arm of GBS, on crafting the perfect treatment to bring Wu’s vision to life. Weeks of research made positive that we had identified the perfect glacier in Peru for this masterpiece and several legal calls to ensure the Coors Light brand was being represented properly.

We then set forth on an week long journey in the high altitudes of the Andes, taking breaks in between shots to catch his breath and warm his hands, Wu photographed his vision, painting the landscape with light from his drone, the stars and the moon. Every raw moment captured by Courageous Studios was recorded, compiled and transformed into a stunning film following Wu’s journey.

Moving Mountains captured Wu’s breathtaking adventure and truly celebrated the adventurous spirit of Coors Light.

Outstanding results include:

Wu’s video had a 61% YT video completion rate, 61% above the GBS benchmark

Milward Brown Results:

- GBS drove an 89% positive emotional response rate via comments and drove 41.8 attribute

rating lift (Coors Light is part of enjoying the journey)

- Effectively helped raise Coors drive 4.7% increase in Brand Spirit perception that Coors Light

best celebrates the explorer spirit

Awards wins in the:

Brand, NYC Drone and Mountain Film Festivals

Coors Light gained additional earned PR by Wu promoting the video on his IG page, IGTV, video links and tagging Coors Light. Reuben’s bonus news coverage:

Pressboard – Top 50 branded content programs of 2018

Pressboard – Top 10 trends to watch in 2019

Ad Age – Spotlight Artists

Adweek – Roku Channel Hub

Wired

Lonely Planet