Our strategy was determined by two insights:

- Consumer: 1/3 of 25-35-year-olds in the UK claim to drink alcohol rarely. It's easy to assume that people are drinking less because they are going out less but they actually go out more. This new generation has rejected the excess of their predecessors, preferring to immerse themselves in experiences. They’re motivated by seeing and doing more, whilst drinking less. Our research showed 78% prefer to spend money on experiences over material goods. ‘Experience’ is the new status symbol for our audience.

- Brand: The beer began when a group of Spanish explorers discovered the Philippines and set up home there in 1890. After two generations, their children returned to Spain where they built the San Miguel brewery. Experience and adventure run through the DNA of the brand, providing the bedrock for a great story that could help reconnect us with our audience.

The Sunday Times Rich List: one of the oldest newspapers publishing a list of the world’s richest people. It represents old-world thinking.

So we created our own supplement, The San Miguel Rich List, with the Guardian. Known for its alternative stance, this made for a very modern, disruptive, statement.

In the spirit of the brand, we travelled the world to find unique stories to tell. Husky Masters to horse whisperers all featured on the New Rich List: it represented men and women who have bravely pursued the unknown.

Our 6-month partnership integrated stories seamlessly with Discovery’s own content, through 90” editorial spots and a hub on their website. With the Guardian we ran interviews and inspiring photography in DPS advertorials.

An event at Somerset House gave guests the chance to experience the different worlds of our rich list members through a combination of VR, 3D projections and live workshops.

Combining TV, print, digital, experiential and social enabled us to reach 14m millennials in the UK.

Our budget was flat year-on-year, but by moving from traditional broadcast to a memorable partnership approach, we delivered record-breaking sales.

- Prompted awareness: up 6% on Peroni, its direct competitor.

- Millward Brown tracking: 50% agreed San Miguel is different from other brands (vs 36% category norm) a 4% increase on our 46% target.

- Volume sales grew by 10.5%, overall net sales increased by 10.4%, smashing our 6.5% target - San Miguel moved into the top 10 biggest beers in the UK for the first time.

But this campaign was about more than just pints sold – even though we helped sell 750m of them! San Miguel is so committed to the New Rich list that we’re already scouring the globe for the next generation of explorers with stories to share.

Facing a declining lager category and a flooded market, San Miguel needed to reconnect with young drinkers.

This audience is motivated by seeing and doing more while drinking less.

‘Experience’ is the new status symbol for them.

Experience runs through the DNA of the brand. We believe wealth comes from experience.

So we took the Sunday Times Rich List, and turned it on its head by creating a New Rich List with the Guardian, celebrating people rich in experiences and adventure.

TV, print, digital, experiential and social enabled us to reach14m millennials and sell 96m more pints of beer!

San Miguel believes that the things you’ve seen and the stories you have to tell are more valuable than money or material possessions. We needed to bring our experience proposition into the real world, driving the decision to drink San Miguel.

We would celebrate unique individuals who embody the concept of cultural wealth. Their stories would give us a reason to engage with a premium audience who shared the same belief. An integrated media partnership with The Discovery Channel and Guardian helped tell their stories, backed by an innovative content series and an immersive event.

Discovery’s brand positioning of “Make your world bigger” was the perfect fit to add substance to our story, bringing us hundreds of life-rich individuals that were shortlisted to 20. Selected to add stature and newsworthy editorial to our campaign, The Guardian is also the most read print brand by our Experience Seeking audience (i184).

San Miguel is a Spanish beer brand that found it’s home in the Philippines in 1890 and has been exploring the world ever since.

The UK lager category is in decline - sales dropped by 3 billion litres in 2015 and the UK consumer now has over 11,000 beers to choose from. San Miguel may stand for ‘Spain and Sunshine’ but that would no longer be enough when faced with a competitive set that felt more authentic.

We needed to make San Miguel synonymous with experience to reconnect with young drinkers who’d been enticed away by premium beers. Our task was to achieve 10% above category norms that San Miguel feels different from other brands, as well as sell an extra 70 million pints of beer.