Cannes Lions
LEPUB, Milan / HEINEKEN / 2024
Awards:
Overview
Entries
Credits
Background
The oldest pubs in the world are closing. Running costs, higher taxes and inflation mean that a quarter of pubs in Ireland have shut, an average of 150 each year.
Heineken's brand mission is to help people enjoy a richer social life. The closure of many historical Irish pubs in Ireland represented a barrier to people enjoying social life in these rich and historical places. So the brand aimed to safeguard these famous cultural institutions for the future.
Idea
The Irish Heritage Council offers protected status, tax support and other financial benefits to places of historical significance that are open to the public, such as museums. So, Heineken turned historic Irish pubs into virtual museums which people could visit. Enabling their rich past to protect their future.
The brand also created an online tutorial, teaching pub owners all over Ireland and the world how they could also become museums so many more pubs would also be protected.
Pub Museums gave historic Irish pubs a tangible way to protect themselves from closure in challenging economic times. The awareness generated around the campaign also added weight to the bid to have Ireland's Historic pubs listed by UNESCO as protected world heritage sites.
Strategy
The Irish Heritage Council offers protected status, tax support and other financial benefits to places of historical significance that are open to the public, such as museums. So, Heineken turned historic Irish pubs into virtual museums.
The key message of the campaign being ‘Visit the past to help preserve the future’
The initiative targeted the local community, as well as Irish news media. Helping to grow support for individual pubs but also drawing attention to the bigger issue of endangered pubs in the process.
The initiative also targeted other pubs around the world so they would be made aware of how they could help to protect their own pubs as well.
The initial virtual Pub Museums experience was launched in selected pubs across Ireland, along with beer mats and entry plaques to help guide people, a press release, launch video and tutorial for pub owners.
Execution
Pubs across Ireland were turned into virtual museums. Through augmented reality, objects in the pubs became 3D artifacts complete with audio guides. Allowing pubs to begin the process of becoming accredited museums.
People started their experience by scanning a QR code at the pub entrance. Once inside, customers were free to interact with historical items and enjoy the accompanying augmented reality experience, even buy virtual souvenirs to help financially support the pubs.
An online tutorial showed how a pub could become a museum, to protect pubs around the world could be protected.
The launch event at one of Dublin’s oldest pubs, Toners, saw special guests and the media try out the virtual tour for themselves. A press release told the media about the initiative. The experience was then rolled out at several pubs across Ireland, including Sean's Bar in Athlone and Mother Macs in Limerick.
Outcome
Pub Museums gave pubs a tangible way to protect themselves from closure in challenging economic times. Including:
20% tax cut on building maintenance.
Economic evaluation of their cultural heritage collection
Protection from being bought out
Added to tourism guides
The launch of the museums also led to
134h+
OF AUDIO GUIDES HEARD
200k+
IN FUNDING
PENDING
+30%
FOOTFALL
IN PUBS
Irish pubs have also made a submission to the Irish Department of Culture to be protected by UNESCO.
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