Our campaign was designed to make Three Sheets stand out at point of sale and change the purchase behaviour of beer drinkers. By playfully ‘restricting’ our beer everywhere that it was sold, our 35+ protective labels encouraged trial by young and old, leading to a huge uplift in sales. 67% increase in on-tap sales and 15% increase in bottle shop sales.

Lord Nelson is Australia’s oldest craft brewery, and they’ve been brewing the refined flavours of Three Sheets Pale Ale for decades. But sales were being impacted by a few challenges.

Not on-trend:

Three Sheets is a traditionally-flavoured Pale Ale, however drinkers are currently favouring beers with gimmicky flavour twists.

Not top-of-mind:

With an influx of ‘trendier’, cashed-up craft beer options hitting the market recently, it’s become increasingly hard to stand-out and get noticed in fridges and on taps.

Our brief was to lift sales for Lord Nelson’s Three Sheets pale Ale.

Our objectives were therefore to:

1/ Develop a cost-effective fame idea to cut through the clutter and get us noticed

2/ Bring in more drinkers: both young and old

3/ Increase beer trade favorability of Three Sheets

4/ Convince Australians that timeless quality trumps gimmicky fads

Increasingly, young people aren’t appreciating well-crafted beer. They mix it with soft drink, garnish it or drink it out of beer bongs.

Lord Nelson Brewery couldn’t let their flagship beer, Three Sheets Pale Ale, go unappreciated any more. So, we raised its drinking age to 35+.

Using the visual language of classification stickers, 35+ labels were placed on products in pubs and bottle shops, and promoted in OOH, press and PR.

All designed for the beer to get noticed at the point of purchase; appealing to the mature palates of older drinkers, while making younger ones want the beer even more.

Australian drinkers usually know what they’re going to order before they get to the bar or beer fridge. But if we could deliver a salient message in the final 3 feet of purchase, we could make them consider ordering Three Sheets Pale Ale.

With limited budget, our campaign focussed on disrupting the point-of-purchase while elevating the refined flavour profile of Three Sheets Pale ale. The 35+ protective measures were part of a velvet rope strategy that put our over 35 drinkers on a pedestal, reinforcing their status as cultured, refined and ‘in the know’. For those under 35, it drove intrigue, building exclusivity and desirability into a product they may not have tried. After all, what better way to make someone want something than by telling them they can’t have it?

We put a playful age restriction on Lord Nelson’s Three Sheets Pale Ale for those 35+ with ‘mature mouths’, appealing to older drinkers’ refined palates, and making younger ones want the beer even more - driving a cultural conversation between our target audiences.

Our 35+ labels were present wherever Three Sheets was sold, speaking to all ages. Using the visual language of government classification stickers, our playful 35+ labels were placed in pubs and bottle stores across the nation - 350 on pub taps, 5000 on cases and 5000 on 6-packs. Wherever our beer was sold, our restrictions stood out, appearing like official notices, and drawing attention to the beer.

The 35+ measures were promoted through a press ad and DM packs for older drinkers, and a social media film and OOH for younger ones.

The campaign was launched on Thursday March 2, 2023, and is still running.

67% increase in sales on tap in the first two weeks.

15% increase in bottle shop sales.

5.6 million media impressions

99% positive brand engagement

350 taps restricted

5,000x cases restricted

5,000x 6-packs restricted

Lord Nelson are Australia’s oldest craft brewery and have been crafting the refined Three Sheets Pale Ale for decades.

Australia is home to “The Shoey”, a custom where young people take off their shoe, pour a full beer into it, and slam it down as fast as they can.

A shoe is not an approved vessel for Three Sheets.