Smithy, The People’s Racehorse

John Smith’s wanted a campaign that would unite their sponsored racing calendar, culminating with the John Smith’s Grand National under one ‘No Nonsense’ Umbrella. It had to target the drinker in their environment and encourage them to drink more John Smith’s. So, we bought a racehorse. A racehorse that we called Smithy and then gave drinkers a share of, just for the price of a pint of John Smith’s. A share gives drinkers the chance to take part in votes about Smithy, as well as access to exclusive horse racing competitions. The campaign was activated in the on-trade and supported by a partnership with the Daily Mirror, a partnership with William Hill, 2 x on trade POS activations, outdoor media, e-CRM, experiential and digital activation including a website, Facebook and advertising. So far we have nearly 10,000 Shareholders and Facebook fans, and have generated nearly £200k worth of media.