We developed Popnetics; a piece of software that is able to recognize the unique sound of a ‘pop’ of the iconic Grolsch swingtop. It can distinguish it from ‘fake pops’ and measure variables like volume and tone. It captures the 'pop', sends the data to the cloud and uses it to trigger … something special.

At two festivals in Romania we used Popnetics to trigger a custom-built paint cannon. By ‘popping’ a swingtop, festival go-ers fired paint at a huge stenciled wall and contributed in the co-creation of a unique mural, revealed at the end of the festival.

We gave the audience an experience they wanted to be a part of. A unique, physical and impactful brand experience, directly connected to the product and right at the moment of consumption. Around 700 visitors joined in the co-creation of the artworks (near maximum capacity) and many more were spectators for a prolonged period of time. The artworks shared on Facebook were viewed 50.000 times and the free-publicity about the project reached over 750.000 Romanians.

Grolsch is repositioning their global brand to appeal to a changed, younger audience; the ‘urban creative’. This audience is rather fatigued by traditional advertising. They judge brands by their actions more than by their words.

Grolsch believes creativity flourishes when open-minded people come together. Beer is very much a social drink. Grolsch aims to be the social glue that helps to bring people together to inspire creativity. So Grolsch’ strategy centers around creating physical brand experiences that engage ‘urban creatives’.

Our answer to the brief went beyond one brand experience. We developped a way to offer engaging, physical brand experiences, using their most iconic trademark; the swing top.