The world is running out of sand. Sand is used in everything from construction to pharmaceuticals, and as result two thirds of the world’s beaches are retreating. Desert sand is too fine to be used in construction, sending the demand for beach sand soaring. A billion-dollar black market has resulted in the illegal extraction of sand from Sierra Leone to Singapore. Sand is the second most exploited natural resource on the planet and takes hundreds of thousands of years to regenerate. At the same time, global mainstream beer consumption is in decline. So we built machines that turn empty beer bottles into a sand substitute. To save their beaches, we asked New Zealanders to empty a bottle of DB Export. Made from desert sand, each bottle makes 200 grams of sand substitute. To make a difference we needed New Zealanders to empty as many DB Export bottles as possible!

INTRODUCING BEER BOTTLE SAND We seeded the initiative to media via a press release and branded film, media were encouraged to cut their own version of the video. The original film was then seeded on social gaining 53 million organic views. MAKING IT REAL We created a physical presence for the brand through a partnership with Mitre 10 – NZ’s largest DIY retailer. Beer Bottle Sand was stocked in 45 outlets nationwide. We negotiated inclusion of a building challenge using Beer Bottle Sand on popular NZ renovation show ‘The Block’ and used building wraps of construction sites to communicate that they were using our sand in construction. AMPLIFYING THE STORY Kiwi men were then recruited to join our movement through media relations, TV, social, media partnerships supported by digital video and billboards – driving awareness and delivering longevity.

Our combination of earned and paid PR delivered 203 million impressions on news, tech and lifestyle publications worldwide, contributing to a reach of 97% of our target. The machines featured on broadcast and online news including CNBC, Slash Gear and Trend Hunter. Thousands of user-generated videos were shared directly from machines, with our campaign video receiving 53 million views and 700,000 shares. With category decline at 6%, our drinkers emptied 13 million bottles - helping DB Export become the only mainstream beer to grow in value and volume. Our sand was supplied to construction, roading, golf and drainage companies. A two-year deal to supply our sand to Drymix (NZ’s largest concrete producer) has seen us create our own brand of eco-concrete, sold to consumers through the country’s biggest home improvement chain. Requests for machines have come from all over the world, scoping to supply 500 machines is currently underway.