An immersive VR tasting experience, scientifically proven to enhance the aromas and flavours of 3 Guinness beers.

We worked with eminent flavour scientist, Professor Charles Spence, who identified the shapes, colours, speeds and sounds that would enhance the aroma and flavour profiles of each beer. Working with award-winning production companies, we then converted the research into a bespoke 360 environment that engaged all 5 senses, a first in branded VR.

Guinness is an innovative brand and wanted to bring the taste of their beer to life in an innovative way that delivered against their brand positioning - Made of More.

We challenged ourselves to design an experience that engages all the senses at once. To achieve this, we knew we had to develop a look and feel that was visually impressive yet stayed true to the science provided by Professor Charles Spence.

We began by taking the research and combining the different elements for each of the aromas and flavours - sound, colour, shape and speed - to create individual abstract forms that heightened each individual smell and taste. We then combined these elements to create a bespoke 360 environment, working closely with Guinness Master Brewers to ensure the visuals perfectly simulated how you experience each beer, from the first smell to the long lingering aftertaste. This dictated the length of each sequence within the experience so it was important that the abstract forms felt fleeting, yet somehow tactile and present at the same time allowing them to be iterated quickly. The voice of Peter Simpson, the head brewer at The Guinness Open Gate Brewery, acts as a guide within the experience, instructing viewers when to smell and taste the beers. A bespoke binaural soundscape was created to compliment the visuals and further enhance the aromas and flavour profiles. The result was a beer tasting experience like no other.

The experience was rolled out in the beer aisles of Tesco stores in Ireland where discerning beer drinkers were deciding which beer to purchase, which resulted in a 52% rise in sales compared to the previous week.

Due to the overwhelming success of the project, Guinness are looking to implement the experience in Asia and North America.

VR activity grew sales in Tesco +52% vs the previous week (vs. control stores where the range only grew +8%).

Due to the overwhelming success of the project, Guinness are looking to implement the experience in Asia and North America.

The project has been widely recognised within the industry as an idea that uses VR not as a gimmick, but for what the technology was designed to do: suspend the senses and transport you to another place. Since launching the campaign R/GA has been invited to speak at several events around the world about the project and technologies role within storytelling.