In 2021 bars and restaurants across the United States started requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for entry. Blue Moon beer is primarily consumed on premises in bars and restaurants, so we wanted to find a way to make celebrating the holidays with a Blue Moon safer and easier.

Our objective was to create a buzzworthy campaign that would get Blue Moon in the press, increase engagement on social media and through email, and put Blue Moon top of mind for drinking during holiday celebrations.

The Blue Moon vax card-igan is a festive holiday cardigan with a vaccine (vax) record card holder on the front, so you can walk into a bar and quickly flash your proof of vaccination, all while safely spreading holiday cheer.

The vax card-igans put a new spin on a holiday tradition, the ugly sweater. Instead of making more ugly sweaters, we designed beautiful cardigans fit for 2021.

We designed a website to sell the vax card-igans and announced them on social media. We designed three cardigans, which we called “The Booster-and-a-Beer,” “The Bright Night,” and “The Citrus and Snow.” They were priced at $20.21, representing (hopefully) the only year we’d have to wear them. They took a firm stance on the side of science and protecting our communities through vaccination efforts, which resulted in the cardigans receiving a lot of attention around the United States.

The strategy was to earn social media engagement and coverage in the press by introducing Blue Moon vax card-igans as the first-ever holiday sweaters that doubled as vaccine record card holders.

The approach was to position Blue Moon as a craft beer brand that was giving consumers a practical twist on the classic holiday sweater by making it easier to show proof of vaccination at a bar while responsibly reuniting with friends during the holiday season. The goal was to enhance category leadership by highlighting how Blue Moon evolved innovations to meet craft beer drinkers where they were – out at bars for the first time in about two years.

The call to action was to purchase a vax card-igan to wear out to bars and celebrate safely by showing your proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

We launched the vax card-igan on social media, posting the announcement to the Blue Moon social media pages. We teased the product on social media a few days before the official reveal and launch, adding to the anticipation.

We launched the website and made the announcement on social simultaneously on December 9, 2021. Within hours of the post being shared, the vax card-igans were completely sold out in every size and design. The next day, the vax card-igans earned coverage in articles across the web and social media. We restocked, and they completely sold out again the next day. A budget of $37,000 turned into more than 250MM earned media impressions and millions of impressions on social media.

Influencers helped spread the word of the vax card-igan, resulting in more than 500,000 impressions on Instagram alone.

The vax card-igan was a hugely successful brand activation, reaching or exceeding every campaign goal. The vax card-igans completely sold out within hours of the launch, and when we restocked, they sold out again the next day.

On social media, Blue Moon saw organic engagement increase by 50%, and on Twitter specifically, brand impressions doubled. For paid social, it exceeded CTR goals and earned more than 1000 new people subscribing to Blue Moon emails.

The vax card-igan was all over the press, getting featured in everything from pop culture publications like Elite Daily to news networks like NBC. It achieved the brand goal of earning coverage in consumer lifestyle media. It exceeded Blue Moon’s earned media goals by more than 150%: the vax card-igan received more than 250MM earned media impressions. The sweater we never knew we’d need ended up being one of the most talked-about sweaters of the season.