Sol beer’s Irish digital transformation agency, CKSK, has created the world’s first independent search engine.
Heineken Global acquired the Sol beer brand in 2011, and is repositioning Sol as a premium beer brand. The aim is to differentiate Sol in the Mexican beer category by making it aspirational to people who are attracted to the ideas of freedom and independence.
CKSK was asked to imagine how a digital-first strategy could re-establish the brand globally and underscore Sol’s idea of independence.
The agency’s response was to create the world’s first independent search engine. The campaign champions the beer brand’s Espiritu Libre (Free Spirit) philosophy – the Sol search engine helps consumers “discover a world beyond the mainstream”.
Graham Nolan, head of strategy at CKSK, explained, “Having studied the online behaviour of older beer consumers, we identified that it’s incredibly easy to be pulled into mainstream behaviour on digital channels. Google gives you popular, mainstream search answers, whilst Facebook gives you the same mainstream content from global brands. Online, we’re all morphing into the same homogeneous person who clicks on the same content and retweets the same tweets. Discovering cool, unconventional and independent bars, restaurants and cafes online is hard, so too is being who you really are, and that’s why we created Sol Search.”
With Google owning 85% of the search market, the answers it gives are the most popular but not necessarily the most independent or interesting. If you search “pizza” for example, you’re likely to Dominos and Pizza Hut. Search “pizza” on Sol Search and you’ll learn about a whole world of independent pizza places begun by independent entrepreneurs with great stories to tell.
Sol Search is free and minimally-branded. It intends being global while allowing users to fine-tune their search locally. It’s already live in London, Sao Paul, Athens and Thessaloniki, and will launch in Riviera Maya and the brand’s native Mexico City soon. It will extend to ten more markets by the end of 2015.
Nolan added, “Our goal is to get 35-year-old beer consumers to consider Sol as a premium beer brand. Our consumer wants to be independent but, when you’re 35 with a job, children and mortgage, it’s difficult. Sol Search allows these guys to keep the flame of independence alive by discovering cool places online that might just encourage them to visit in the real world.”
Check out the campaign here.
See the full case study here.
Campaign credits:
Agency: CKSK
Executive creative director: Stephen Pullen
Creatives: Stephen Pullen (copywriter) & Geoff Barker (design)
Head of strategy: Graham Nolan
Innovation director: Ben Hindmarsh
Client Service: Brain Leahy
Production company: CKSK
