A woman walks into a bar. She’s meeting a friend, but she’s 20 minutes early. She grabs a stool and has a seat at the bar.
The first thing she does? Asks for a menu? Orders a beer? Guess again. Most likely, she’s taking out her phone and flipping through her social media channels.
And she’s not alone. Up and down the bar, more and more patrons waiting for their friends stare into their phones, a phenomenon that Miller Lite views as a captive opportunity to reach more drinkers in the on-premise.
The brand this month launched Great Taste Trivia, a 12-question trivia game served to the mobile phones of legal-age drinkers in more than 230,000 bars and restaurants across the country. If a player answers all 12 questions correctly, their prize is $5 that can be used toward a cold Miller Lite.
“We’ve been looking for new and innovative ways to reach drinkers in the on-premise,” says Lucy Bloxam, associate marketing manager for Miller Lite. "By capturing these moments and gamifying drinkers’ wait, we’ll help make Miller Lite top of mind for the rest of the night.”
The game will appear in social media channels, select apps and browsers via a geotargeted media buy that will serve the game to users identified inside bars and restaurants. Others can access the game via QR codes on posters and other point-of-sale materials inside bars and restaurants. The game will begin July 1 and will continue through September.
Once a user enters their email address and acknowledges they’re 21 or older, they’re asked to answer 12 trivia questions pulled from a pool of 50. Miller Lite will award 10,000 winners, who are limited to one $5 prize, which will be transmitted via PayPal.
The game, a form of promotion called “digital edutainment,” features a series of multiple-choice questions focused on beer and Miller Lite. Sample questions include: “Which glass bottle color will keep your beer safe from the sun?” “What main ingredient of beer most impacts its color?” and “How many grams of sugar are in a Miller Lite?”
“Yes, it’s advertising, but it’s not advertising in a way that’s super overt and annoying. It’s meant to be interesting, fun and educational,” Bloxam says.
Great Taste Trivia is the newest phase of Miller Lite’s on-premise strategy, following its Know Your Beer program, which features promotional specialists who take consumers through a blind tasting between Miller Lite and Bud Light.
That campaign, which recently reached its 1 millionth participant, debuted in spring 2017 and aimed to help drinkers recognize the difference between light beers on the basis of evaluating which has more taste, color and aroma.
The on-premise remains an important channel for Miller Lite, which has outperformed its segment over the past two-plus years. The Original Light Beer has picked up 1.1 points of share among premium lights so far in 2019 while Bud Light has shed 1.1 points of share. Miller Lite this year also has held share in the overall beer industry, while premium lights overall have lost 1.7 points, per Nielsen all-outlet and convenience data through June 15.
Great Taste Trivia “allows Miller Lite to extend the success of Know Your Beer into the digital space. It’s new, it’s different and it’s positioned to continue our momentum as a brand,” Bloxam says. “Hopefully consumers who play walk away with a fun, positive view of Miller Lite.”