In Africa, Guinness is at the heart of a bustling bar culture. Black Shines Brightest represents the continent’s vivid culture and reflects Guinness’ role in elevating social occasions.

But when it comes to enjoying a cold Guinness with friends, in certain markets there’s one big problem: blackouts.

It’s a problem for:

People - Blackouts suck the energy from the occasion while the bar takes time to turn on dirty power generators.

Our bars - Irregular power supply and high energy costs impact the way our bars do business and how they serve their customers.

Guinness - Power outages and unplugged fridges leave our beer warm.

Our brief:

1. Provide better socialising experience for consumers.

2. Support on-trade partners in overcoming power challenges.

3. Deliver a better Guinness experience to sell more cold beer.

This project aimed to deliver proof of concept to roll out the solution across the continent.

To solve the problem of blackouts, we stepped in with a bright idea.

In order to ensure that Black continues to Shine Brightest in our bars, we harnessed the power of the brightest force there is: the sun.

Introducing Guinness Bright Bars.

Bright Bars harnessed solar power to turn bars into shining beacons of socialization in their communities.

Sustainable, low cost energy meant that Guinness could give consumers the confidence that their experience wouldn’t be interrupted. Ensuring the music could keep pumping, the cold beers could keep flowing, and the spark of the evening could live on.

Our strategy was ultimately to create a solution to optimize the customer experience for both consumers and our on-trade partners - and ensure that we deliver on our promise that Black Shines Brightest.

For consumers - By powering the solution that keeps the spark of the night alive, we could reassert Guinness’ premium positioning and drive association with an elevated night out. The assurance of regular power supply brings a renewed confidence to the moments of powerful communion that are at the core of our brand.

For our bars - Our partner bars are incredibly important for growing our business and maintaining the premium experience of a beautiful cold Guinness. By supporting them we can strengthen those on-trade relationships, and have a positive influence over the product experience they deliver consumers.

With plans to scale the idea if successful, we executed Bright Bars with two pilots in Lagos, Nigeria and Nairobi, Kenya.

We installed solar panels in the bars, which provided enough energy to keep the lights on 24/7, making sure that even when power black outs happen, our Bright Bars keep shining.

External solar powered beacons attracted drinkers from all over the city to enjoy what lies inside, and socialize with confidence. More than just shining bright, the sustainable energy created a sustainable flow of cold beer, powering the bar’s fridges to make sure that everyone visiting a Bright Bar can enjoy an ice-cold Guinness.

Solar energy also powered our new visibility and serve ecosystem. Our Bright Bars were given a face lift with vibrant branded assets that delivered a colorful aesthetic. We also deployed cutting edge serve technology that delivers a beautifully poured pint every time.

Our overall objective was to demonstrate proof of concept. Exceptional results have given us the confidence to scale this idea to hundreds of locations across Africa.

As for our three objectives, the results are a beacon of potential for what we can achieve in the long term:

1- Provide a better experience for more people on nights out.

60% Increase in footfall across both Nigeria and Kenya

2- Support our on-trade partners with solutions that help them overcome power challenges.

Delivering savings on energy bills of 50% in Nigeria and 70% in Kenya

Growing the category sales of 300% in Nigeria and 206% in Kenya

3- Deliver a better Guinness experience to get more cold beer sold.

Selling more Guinness - uplifting sales by 379% in Nigeria and 30% in Kenya