Guinness are on a mission to become the most popular brand of beer in the world. Many people would say the Guinness is an acquired taste, so to aid in their quest to get more people drinking the dark Irish stout, Guinness are setting up virtual reality (VR) tasting booths at selected Tesco supermarkets.
Guinness are introducing two new sub-lines of beers, specifically the West Indies Porter, Hop House 13 Lager and Guinness Draft as part of the marketing campaign, Guinness have chosen to get Guinness Master Brewer Peter Simpson to narrate an immersive 360-degree video experience which Guinness claims is ‘scientifically proven to enhance flavours’.
Alex Wills is managing director content studio at R/GA London, and formed part of the team that worked with Guinness to build the tasting experience, said: “VR technology is increasingly becoming a viable new media platform for brands and agencies that are looking for powerful ways to impact on branded storytelling. We’re really excited to have partnered with Guinness on a campaign that uses VR not as a gimmick or a ‘first’, but for what the technology was actually designed to do: suspend the senses and transport you to another place”
VR is not the only way Guinness are embracing technology, however, as they will also be using an Aduino-powered ‘intelligent cup’ which will adjust the VR experience based upon the movements of the cup. According to The Drum, the experience will be rolled out at selected Tesco stores in the UK from this month onwards, with Guinness fans in other countries expected to get their own tasting experiences later in the year.
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