Diageo’s commitment to a more inclusive world had been summarised in Society 2030: Spirit of Progress 2030, a 10-year action plan. This ambition included making a difference in gender equality, an area we had supported Diageo in already. This included focusing on progressive portrayal, ensuring that fairer and better representation happened on both sides of the camera. These inclusivity focused objectives also included brand objectives and opportunities for Guinness.

As part of this agenda, Diageo invited agencies to pitch for funds to create brave, impactful ideas that would accelerate progressive portrayal and make a further difference in the world. We immediately thought about the equality challenges women faced in Cameroon, and how they were epitomised in women’s football. Our ambition was to trigger societal change and empower a generation of young women across Cameroon with our idea. Creating a legacy for women, Guinness ?& Diageo across Cameroon.

Based on qualitative research, our insight was that despite having suffered from gender inequality themselves the elder generations of Cameroonian women hold back their own daughters and nieces from fulfilling their dreams.

This issue was amplified in attitudes towards women’s sport in Cameroon, particularly football.

We had an idea. What if we contrasted the home advantage experienced by football teams with the need for a home advantage in supporting younger women to live their dreams in a world without gender inequality?

Our idea was that Guinness would empower women and advance female equality by triggering an event where mothers witnessed and supported their daughters playing football for the first time.

This would then be amplified to make an impact on the behaviours of elder generations and the lives of younger female generations.

We were aware of gender inequality challenges in Africa and collected third party data sources (e.g. The Power of Parity: advancing women’s equality in Africa, McKinsey 2019).

Our behavioural workshop approach brings together agency and clients, allowing us to share strategy and add more personal insights. We carried out qualitative interviews with Cameroonians to explore the experiences of women, the perspectives of elder generations around gender inequality and then women footballers.

We were able to tighten our bullseye audience in a surprising way. Cameroon was a male-dominated society, but elder women had responsibility at home, playing the strongest role in defining their daughters’ lives, holding them back. Sport was a microcosm of these issues, particularly women’s football, strongly disapproved of. We targeted the mothers of women footballers to make the point to the elder women of Cameroon that they could be greatest positive influence on younger generations of women.

The campaign focused on an act in culture, bringing female elders together to watch their daughters playing football for the first time, in the Women’s Super League. This act engaged real people, in the moment itself and amplifying it through influencers and social media conversations (#HerHomeAdvantage)

Ajara (young Lioness) and Roger Milla (elder football statesman) had conversations about female equality on TV. This was amplified in social media, TV advertising, radio appearances and editorial coverage.

This included a two-minute digital film based on this transformational moment at the football match, as well as edits for broadcast TV, social cut downs and bonus match content.

The momentum phase placed Ajara and Roger in an interactive social campaign with owned and earned media, influencer content and UGC. A special Guinness bottle raised funds for an ongoing mentorship programme, along with in-bar activity and localised events.

Real change happened. Matches were shown live on TV and footballers were interviewed. They were recognised in a women’s football awards ceremony on TV and viewed by 2.5m.

Cameroon’s Football Association mandated equal pay for footballers and a funded mentorship programme was set up to for women.

Linguistic social media analysis showed sentimental posts towards women’s football increasing by 22%, with an average passion score of 91%.

There was a 126% uplift in Guinness mentions online and a 27% increase in sentimental posts. 5.27m social media reach was achieved, doubling brand reach and frequency, hourly brand mentions increased by 20% and there was a 56% increase in Guinness’ passion score.

Guinness equality perceptions were ‘phenomenal’, ranging from 9-27 percentage point increases, unique for its ‘significant uplift in all key brand metrics’. Brand salience grew to a new three year high.

(Kantar campaign analysis, 2022. Infegy social analysis, 2022.)