As the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, thousands of restaurant businesses had to close their doors during the lockdown. This impacted business owners, their employees and their families. A crisis like no other in history.

Stella needed a specific initiative for an unprecedented problem. Actually, the brand needed a business solution with a message that could be shared and amplified by its own target audience.

The objective of the campaign was to create a message that was easy to understand while being effective. A campaign that raised awareness among people and encouraged them to rally around a cause. More than just a campaign, the idea was to create a movement that was strong enough to sell all vouchers and have a real impact on our community.

To bring help during the crisis, in the first week of the lockdown Stella Artois created an online platform for selling vouchers, a website where people could buy vouchers at a 50% discount, while Stella matched up the other half of the value. The whole amount was then donated to restaurants with closed doors. People could use their vouchers once those restaurants reopened. A simple message initially shared among chefs and restaurant owners, who were interested in selling vouchers to raise funds, and later expanded to consumers, who were interested in buying vouchers to save money and bring some form of help to restaurant businesses.

We created a simple message, initially shared among chefs and restaurant owners, who were interested in selling vouchers to raise funds, and later expanded to consumers, who were interested in buying vouchers to save money and bring some form of help to restaurant businesses.

In order to be effective, the message was simple. It explained the impact of the crisis and how people could purchase vouchers, get discounts and help restaurants.

The message was targeted at an AB-income, 25+ y.o. audience in key markets for the brand. With its success, it was expanded to other markets in Brazil and even exported to other 21 countries.

We created content pieces, like a film and posts, for social media. We shared our posts gradually over the weeks. Initially, they created a sense of urgency, and later conveyed the idea of success so that people felt gratified to participate.

The effort was implemented in the second week of lockdown in Brazil. A website walked people through the initiative. Also, we created posts and videos with easy-to-understand info on how restaurants could participate and how people could buy vouchers.

The idea was created during the first week of lockdown in Brazil and launched in the second week. Two weeks later, it was exported to 21 countries. Two major partners, Nestlé and Nespresso, got on board, bringing more financial support, which helped extend the project into two more stages.

The campaign was promoted across Stella Artois’ social media. We also created a piece of content for restaurants to share across their own social network.

In less than two weeks, our idea was exported to 21 countries and benefitted more than 24,000 restaurants worldwide. Apoie um Restaurante is the biggest PR campaign for Stella Artois ever.

More than 7 million dollars was raised through the project. This helped businesses continue their operations and provided many families with a livelihood. More than 24,000 restaurants were benefited worldwide. The campaign reached more than 800 million impressions.

Also important, Brand Affinity grew 36%, which brought the brand and consumers much closer together.

The initiative helped thousands of people keep their jobs and income, and thousands of families were able to bring food to their table. Stella Artois worked so closely together with restaurants that the brand definitely established itself in Brazil’s food territory. The effort achieved significant figures, but the most important achievement was the relationship between Stella Artois and chefs, which changed from purely commercial to a status of affection and gratitude. The effort was so efficient that Heineken, Stella’s main competitor in Brazil, replicated the same idea.