Digital technology was used to simulate a virtual race between the past 24 winners of the Melbourne cup to fulfill two key objectives:1. Leverage the sponsorship of the 150th Melbourne Cup Carnival (‘The Race That Stops A Nation’) to drive awareness and trial of Boag’s Draught.

2. Build the brand.

The role for Boag’s Draught (as part of the James Boag Trademark) is to invite drinkers to have quality experiences that allow them to step out of the ordinary. And what could be more extraordinary than the creation of a field of champions racing for the first time?

For true engagement to occur, you must reach the consumer at the intersection of the physical and digital space. Using this approach, The Greatest Cup Never Run captured Australia’s attention and imagination:1.183 million Australians watched the race on Melbourne Cup Day with repeat views totaling 572,000.Over 2 million watched related content, worth incremental value of over AU$2.5 million.PR coverage ran across more than 200 unique outlets including 11 from media partners; with a total circulation of 20 million.49,224 website visits.And, Boag’s Draught sales went up, an extraordinary achievement in a declining market.

The promotion celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Melbourne Cup. This historic moment in Australian sport, plus the age-old tradition of comparing sporting legends, inspired us to create The Greatest Cup Never Run. Using state-of-the-art technology and in consultation with racing experts to predict the outcome, we created a virtual race between the Melbourne Cup greats of the last 150 years. This race was broadcast live on national TV during race-day coverage.Viewers were captivated as they watched the race and held onto their beers waiting to learn if they had the winning trifecta combination on their Boag’s Draught bottlecaps.

The Boag’s Draught brand is about creating the extraordinary, so our goal was to capture consumer attention in a unique and engaging way.Though Boag’s Draught was not the primary sponsor of the event, the simulated race drove word of mouth, PR and incremental media value creating higher awareness than a “traditional” sponsorship would have ever achieved.Finally, prize winning trifectas under the bottle cap linked the beer to the race in a way that was relevant to drinkers, enhancing their experience, incentivising them to purchase and rewarding their involvement.