Stunt of the week: Gordon’s helps commuters beGIN their Friday evening
In the midst of the so-called gin renaissance, the latest PR stunt from London Dry Gin brand, Gordon’s, made sure its gin is the go-to for commuters on a Friday evening by giving away free G&Ts to those with delayed trains around the UK.
Why? Because Gordon’s wants to stop gloomy commuters wasting time and give them something to smile about, and what better way to do that than with a G&T!
I can definitely agree that there is nothing ‘yay’ about a train delay. However, this #yaydelay campaign, which uses an algorithm to monitor train delays and exasperated tweets to help delayed commuters claim a free or half price G&T, has been able to make those delays a bit more tolerable, and clearly created a buzz on social media. Initially launched in the Capital’s most delayed station, Waterloo, and with a website that supported the initiative, this campaign was able to generate a 1.5 billion reach.
The new ‘gin o’clock’ on Fridays between 5 and 6pm aimed to drive commuters to take to social media to post about their delays, but with a Gordon’s G&T in hand. This PR stunt was therefore able to form a live, real-time event led by social media, and although the campaign’s success was clearly achieved because of this, the alcoholic incentive most definitely helped!
Because, what would anyone rather be doing than drinking a G&T? (Especially a free one!
So, what has this taught us?
This stunt has showed that appearing to offer a temporary ‘quick fix’ to an issue that almost everyone can relate to (by offering to wash away their misery) through required participation on social media can successfully capture national attention from both the public and the media. However, the biggest lesson we’ve learnt is that it’s essential for a brand to understand its audience: Gordon’s clearly understood the frustrations felt by daily commuters and knew the way to win them over.
What did you think of Gordon’s stunt, and did you manage to claim a free G&T? Let us know, tweet us @NeoPRLtd.
