The PR team was briefed to develop a campaign that helped raise awareness and drive entries into their latest promotion.Inspired by a promotion bringing the world’s biggest meat wheel to life, Carlton Draught made a gastronomic breakthrough. By combining 2 of Australia’s favourite ingredients – beer and beef – they created what many Aussies believed to be the greatest addition to BBQing since the invention of tongs: Carlton Draught Wagyu Beef, made from beer.

Carlton Draught enlisted one of Australia’s top Wagyu Beef farmers (Jac Wagyu) to provide the 20 head of cattle for the program, and shipped 5 tonnes of malted barley and 2 tonnes of hops (the 2 main ingredients in Carlton Draught) to his farm in northern New South Wales (NSW).

The result was the world’s best steak and a whole lot of great coverage. The Carlton Draught Massive Meat Wheel promotion received just fewer than 100,000 entries, exceeding the target by 20%. The campaign generated 118 pieces of positive media coverage reaching an audience of over 6m Australians. The editorial coverage was valued at AUS$559,402 (Advertising equivalent costs) giving Carlton Draught a 5:1 return on the AUS$60,000 investment they made on the campaign.

After we secured Jac Wagyu to provide the 20 head of cattle for the program, Carlton Draught shipped five tonnes of malted barley and two tonnes of hops (the two main ingredients) to his farm in northern NSW. For a period of 60 days the F1 grade Wagyu cattle were fed the unique diet.

•We designed cow costumes to ensure photos were branded •Using the cattle images and farmer as our spokesperson we outreached to media •Once the cattle were processed, we created 150 meat trays for media and influencers •We held three events at Australia’s largest publishing houses, serving Carlton Draught Wagyu Beef with a cold stubby•20 ‘meat-up’ events were held at pubs •Local media outreach for the 16 London promotion finalists •Managed Facebook page during the promotion with regular status and content updates and giveaways •Key bloggers were given samples to test taste, photograph and review

In relation to the business objective:•The Massive Meat Wheel promotion received just under 100,000 entries, exceeding the target by 20% In relation to the communications objective:•118 pieces of positive media coverage across print, online, radio and magazines - more than double the agreed KPI•The campaign reached an audience of over 6m Australians •Editorial media coverage secured was valued at AUS$559,402 (advertising equivalent costs) giving Carlton Draught a 5:1 return on the AUS$100,000 investment they made •Coverage appeared in publications that wouldn’t usually write about Carlton Draught including Masterchef Magazine •53 media attended the ‘Meat Up’ events and media BBQs from 17 different publications•20 pub events were hosted in 6 different states across Australia •Throughout the promotion period we saw a growth in the number of Carlton Draught Facebook fans from 20,000 to 23,700 which equates to an 18.5% increase, exceeding the target by 1,700 fans