The Challenge
Guinness set out to challenge Australia’s warm-weather beer culture by asking a bold question: Can cold weather be the perfect time for a pint?
With summer beers dominating the category, Guinness wanted to reframe the way Australians think about enjoying a stout. The goal? Launch a winter campaign using programmatic OOH that would reach on-the-move audiences in real-world environments, spark trial and ultimately drive sales—by tying the campaign to something everyone watches in the winter: the weather.
Inspired by data from the Bureau of Meteorology, Guinness developed a cold-weather creative platform that would show up right when conditions were ideal for a pint.
The Solution
A programmatic campaign built for real-world relevance
Working with Vistar Media and UM Worldwide, Guinness launched a data-informed programmatic DOOH campaign that activated dynamically based on real-time temperature drops.
Weather-triggered activations
The campaign went live whenever the temperature dropped below 7°C—considered the ideal Guinness-drinking weather. DOOH screens would trigger creative messaging that reflected the cold conditions and invited viewers to enjoy a pint.
Contextual targeting near pubs
Small-format screens were programmatically activated from midday onward in proximity to pubs serving Guinness. QR codes on-screen encouraged consumers to redeem a free pint when the temperature hit the magic mark, driving trial right where it mattered most.
Nationwide reach, hyper-local precision
Spanning Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, the campaign used Vistar Media’s DSP to manage placements across multiple markets, ensuring that activations were both locally relevant and nationally scalable.
High-impact creative and interactivity
Rather than relying on static imagery, Guinness prioritized video content, updated regularly for continued freshness and seasonal engagement. QR codes added an interactive layer, offering frictionless redemptions and increasing trackable engagement across the board.
The results
An award-winning winter performance
This campaign didn’t just resonate—it delivered across every KPI. With a +13% YoY increase in Guinness consumption and over 100,000 incremental pints served, the strategy proved that smart creative, targeted activation and programmatic scale could redefine seasonality for a legacy brand.
- +11.8M impressions across 2,748 DOOH placements
- +18% revenue growth YoY
- +3pt lift in brand salience
- +17% increase in brand power
- +15% uplift in foot traffic to pubs, with 2,000 samples redeemed
- +100K incremental pints consumed in winter months
This campaign was recognized with the JCDecaux Programmatic Campaign of the Year Award 2023/24, celebrating its creative strategy, data-informed execution and measurable success.
Working with Vistar was fantastic and their collaborative approach allowed us to achieve remarkable results together.
Mark Ryan
Senior Client Director, UM Worldwide
The takeaway
This campaign demonstrates what’s possible when creative ideas are matched with real-time relevance. By tying weather data to programmatic DOOH, Guinness tapped into an underutilized seasonal moment, drove measurable consumer behavior and reshaped how its brand shows up in outdoor spaces.
Vistar Media’s technology-enabled real-time activations, strategic placement near points of interest and creative flexibility across formats—all while maintaining control, measurement and performance insights at scale.
Let’s build your next success story
Whether you're redefining seasonal relevance or activating around real-world data triggers, Vistar Media can help bring your vision to life. Get in touch to learn how our programmatic OOH solutions can drive measurable impact for your brand.
