Stage One: create an alternative brand, WITNNESS, that represented the new, outward-looking Ireland.Stage Two: use alternative media to create a buzz around Witnness, culminating in a huge rock festival at the Fairyhouse racecourse outside Dublin in July.Guerilla tactics have included graffiti art, police-style incident boards at roadsides with references to Witnness.com for more information and set lists screwed up in a ball left behind in fashionable bars.This was supported with the Witnness.com website allowing consumers to interact with the brand, buy tickets and get exclusive information on the performers, offering valuable incentives like VIP passes and free camping.

After two years of pre-testing, the activity in 2002 halted the decline in market share.• Rejector levels of Guinness now stand at only 39%, bucking the increase trend to 2000• 80,000 people attended the Witnness rock festival• Unprompted awareness of Guinness as the parent brand rose to 64%• July saw 107,110 visitors to Witness.com, an increase of 65.77% on the previous year• 40,000 registered users are now segmented for further direct activity